


Nueva Vida

by juiceboxxortiz



Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: F/M, Nueva Vida
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-15 04:42:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 47,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11223555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juiceboxxortiz/pseuds/juiceboxxortiz
Summary: What if Alvarez had helped him? It would've come at a price, and for Juice the charge was a wife.





	1. Chapter 1

The two Mayans shoved Juice into a cramped room, just off the main floor in the garage. Bikes were coming into the yard outside, and there was no telling who was riding them.  
The room was dark as the door was shut on him, and Juice began to panic.  
Slow, deep breathing, slow, deep breathing. Juice chanted to himself, keeping the attack at bay as he heard the roller door screeching it’s way up, many footsteps treading across the concrete ground.  
Juice put his ear to the door, trying to make out what was being said. The club was looking for him, that he knew. What he didn’t know was if the Mayans were about to give him up and sign his death warrant.  
The voices were muffled, but Juice could just make them out.  
“Alvarez.”  
“Teller.”  
The sounds of the men slapping each other on the back while embracing echoed in the room.  
“We got a problem.”  
“What can I do to help?”  
“Ortiz has gone missing. He been around these parts?”  
Juice froze, waiting for Alvarez to reply.  
“Not on my turf. We don’t keep rats around here.”  
Juice let out a breath, not realising he’d been holding it. He prayed silently that no one had heard him.  
“Alright, man. Can you let me or mine know if you see him?”  
“Sure thing.”  
Juice stood completely still, rooted to the spot. Alvarez hadn’t given him up.  
He heard the roller doors and the footsteps of his brothers leaving. The bikes distantly rumbled fading to nothing, and Juice rubbed his eyes.  
Maybe he would get out of this alive.  
Soon after, the door opened and two of Alvarez’s men came and brought Juice out to their president. They sat him on a stool, taking a step back as Alvarez approached Juice.  
“Don’t take what I did lightly, Ortiz. You might be a rat, but I am not.”  
Juice shut his eyes. He knew what he was, but someone saying it made it all the more real.  
“I’m showing you mercy because I believe you have the intel I need. I believe you because you are desperate to keep your life. So, one last chance to come clean. Do you have my intel?”  
Juice looked Alvarez in the eye. He had no choice now. The Sons would never let him explain this away, they were out for blood. And if he didn’t give Alvarez what he wanted, he would kill him, or hand him over to be killed.  
Juice knew there was a chance that Alvarez would turn him over once he got the intel, but it was a chance he had to take.  
If only he’d run when he had the chance.  
Slowly nodding, Alvarez took a seat across from him. Juice began to tell him everything he needed to know, swallowing hard to keep the bile from rising.

“Get up.”  
The boot nudging into Juice’s ribcage woke him from his light sleep. It had been three days since he’d gone full rat, and he was kept in the small dark room until Alvarez was happy with the intel, and he could get his papers ready. Or so Juice was hoping.  
The Mayan wake up call hauled Juice up from the ground, bringing him out to the garage. Everything was dark, but it was hard to tell if it was day or night, as all the windows were blacked out.  
“Your intel was good, Ortiz.” Alvarez was sitting on a chair, a smug grin on his face.  
“Now, we’re gonna kill you.”  
The little bit of hope that Juice was carrying burnt out instantly. He began to stumble backwards, but was caught by one of Alvarez’s men. Struggling against them, he was brought back before Alvarez.  
“Don’t panic, little rat. You’ll only be dead for a few minutes.”  
“What do you mean?” Juice rasped.  
“We’re pinning our little Sons disturbance on the Niners. I need to stay in the good graces of Prince Charming Teller for a while longer. Going to tell him we caught up with you, got rid of one of his problems for him. Take off your hoodie and lay down here.” Alvarez pointed to a drop sheet on the floor.  
Hesitantly, Juice lay down, letting the men position him.  
“You’re probably wondering why I don’t just kill you.” Alvarez monologued.  
“You took an oath to live or die for your club. You’ve shown you’re not a man of your word.”  
Juice cringed, those words hitting just as hard as the first time he was called a rat.  
“However, I am, and I gave you my word that I would get you out of here alive. This is just one more thing I’m taking away from Teller. And every time he loses, he loses trust in the club. Fortunately for you, his loss is your gain.”  
Juice felt something warm against his head. Turning his head slightly, one of the men was squirting out blood from a bag, spreading it out from his head. He heard the blood being splattered across the plastic, and felt some being placed on his head.  
“Now, lay still, look dead.” Alvarez said, taking out his phone.  
Juice did as he was told, as Alvarez took a photo of his lifeless corpse.  
“You make a good model.” He chuckled, Juice not able to find the humour.  
He was guilt ridden, but he couldn’t help this small, niggling feeling that this was the right thing. That somehow, he didn’t deserve to die.  
Standing up, Juice went to put his hoodie back on, but he was stopped.  
“Give me your kutte.”  
“What?”  
“We’re gonna send it back to Teller.”  
Juice paused. He didn’t need the kutte. That part of his life had died with him when he admitted to Nero what he had done to Darvany.  
He knew that he’d never be a part of SAMCRO, even when Jax had given the kutte back to him. The final straw came when Chibs had told him he was better off eating the barrel of his Nine. If Chibs had lost hope in him, there was no coming back.  
He pulled the vest over his shoulders, handing it to Alvarez. Putting on his jacket, he saw a flash of the reaper tattoo on his arm. He knew that he would need to get it covered, but that would wait until Mexico.  
“Take these. This is who you are now.”  
Juice took the papers, looking at the forged documents.  
“’Diego Martinez’.” Juice read. He cleared his throat. “Thank you.”  
Alvarez shrugged, shaking his head. “Don’t ever show up in America again. I’m not going to help you a second time.”  
Juice nodded, putting the documents down the front of his pants, hiding them underneath his hoodie.  
The roller door was pulled up, and a truck sat in the doorway, backed up with one door open. The signage on the side of the truck read “Morey’s Movers”, though Juice had a feeling the only moving the truck was apart of was that of moving people.  
“This is your ride. You’ll be taken to a house with a tunnel. You’ll go through the tunnel and come out in a diner in Baja. From there, you can set yourself up, live your life, do whatever.” Alvarez explained, walking Juice over to the truck.  
“These are your travel buddies. You’ll have a good few days to get to know each other, especially that one.” Alvarez pointed to the petite blond that Juice had sat himself next to.  
Juice looked from the girl to Alvarez, wondering what he was on about. “Meet Kara Martinez, you’re wife.”  
The door was shut and the last thing Juice saw before he was once again thrown into darkness was the amused look on Alvarez’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-written with the incredible codenamekaraortiz. We have loved writing this and we hope you love reading it! We'd love to hear your feedback, thank you for your support!


	2. Chapter 2

JUICE

Juice was still looking at the doors as the truck pulled away, the chuckle from Alvarez drowned out by the truck’s rumble.  
Turning, he slumped against the truck’s wall, staring blankly into the shadow. He had a wife now? Why would Alvarez do this? Juice’s internal monologue was going haywire, until a howl next to him brought him back to reality.  
“You’re my HUSBAND?!” exclaimed Kara. “I can’t be married! I just wanna get to Mexico and live my life! Alvarez! Alvarez!!”  
Kara was starting to become hysterical.  
Juice could feel her moving, trying to find an opening. He pulled her back down by the wrist, cupping his large hand around her mouth, her rants becoming muffled.  
“Shut it. Shut it!” he raised his voice as she struggled against him.  
“Someone is going to hear you, and you’re not only going to get yourself caught, but all of us.” Juice said, taking his other hand from her wrist.  
“I need to get to Mexico, you will NOT. BLOW THIS. FOR ME. Understand?”  
Kara stopped struggling, her breath heavy against his hand. She nodded, and Juice lowered his hand. “Okay. Does anyone have a flashlight, matches, something to give me some light?” Juice asked around. There was movement, and someone passed him a lighter.  
Igniting it, Juice shifted, pulling the documents out of his pants, unfolding them and holding the flame up so he could read.  
The passport was there, and the birth certificate. Behind the birth certificate was a marriage certificate. Stamped, signed, legitimate. As legitimate as the government could tell, anyway. This was quality work.  
“Pass me your papers.” Juice said, turning to Kara.  
He could barely see her face, a small portion illuminated by the flame of the lighter. She didn’t look much younger than he did. Kara passed her papers over to him and he looked them over. She had been given a marriage certificate too, as if to cement the deal. The marriage certificate was identical to his, right down to the false signatures.  
Juice folded the documents over and handed them back to her. Extinguishing the lighter, he handed it back to it’s owner before settling back against the truck wall.  
“Congrats to us, we got married last week.” he said.  
“I’m-” Kara started, before Juice cut her off.  
“Probably best that we don’t know each other’s real names.” Juice’s tone was harsh.  
“Oh.” she responded.  
Juice hadn’t meant to be harsh.  
The first part of danger was over. He’d survived the wrath of Jax Teller, for now. He wasn’t out of the woods yet, the next phase had only just begun.  
However he did feel bad about snapping at her, so he reached out a comforting hand and put it on what he hoped was her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Let’s get to Mexico. We’ll get through the tunnel together, and work everything out there, okay?”  
“Okay.” She said back.  
“Try to get some sleep. It’s gonna be a long trip.”  
Kara didn’t respond, but instead settled herself up against Juice’s side.  
Juice wasn’t really sure what to do, so he left her there, sighing heavily before closing his eyes. He let the drone of the truck pull him into a dreamless sleep.

It was a rough trip. Nearly six hours on the road saw them being jostled awake, the truck rolling up, the hiss of the brakes so loud against the early morning silence.  
Juice blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes. The shifting of weight at his side was the reminder that nothing that happened was a dream.  
“You okay?” he asked, feeling Kara sit up.  
“Yeah, thanks.”  
They waited in silence as they heard the cab of the door close, the driver’s boots scuffing along the ground as he rounded the truck.  
The back door opened, and Juice peered out into the dark morning, the driver hardly illuminated by the few streetlamps that burnt against the sky.  
The driver held a finger to his lips, and gestured for everyone to get out.  
Juice’s legs were stiff, but he was closest to the door. Dropping his legs over the side, he pushed himself out. Turning, he held out his arms to Kara.  
She looked a little shocked, but leaned down placing her hands on his shoulders as he grabbed her hips and lifted her down out of the truck. Looking up to him she mumbled a quiet ‘thank you.’  
Seeing her a bit better for the first time he thought if he had to be married at least she was nice to look at.  
Giving a small smirk he nodded a silent ‘you're welcome.’  
The rest of the travellers poured out, around ten of them all looking scared but determined.  
The driver signalled again for the group to follow him. They shuffled along behind him, tripping slightly at the uneven ground of the front yard. Bypassing the door, the driver lead them around to the back of the house to a rear entrance.  
As they made their way down the hall, Juice squinted in the light that shone through the hallway. He quickly realised that all the windows must have been blacked out, and there was the sound of movement from the rooms they passed, light shining out under the cracks of the closed doors.  
Walking into a room at the halls end, there were a couple of men milling about, tightening belts around their waists, shrugging on large jackets and hoodies, pulling on backpacks.  
Kara had drifted a small way from Juice, standing by a table. She was fiddling with her hair, pulling it up into a messy bun.  
He instinctively reached out and pulled her to him, wrapping a protective arm around her. He moved them towards the back of the group.  
“Stay close.” he whispered to her. He expected a struggle, but Kara nodded, looking around the room wide eyed.  
A man on the other side of the room was leaning over a table, scanning his eyes over a laptop screen, watching something. When he seemed satisfied with what he saw, he stood up and turned to the group. He looked serious, catching every person in the eye before he began to speak.  
Addressing everyone is Spanish, Juice started to worry. He had no idea what the guy was saying and he saw Kara turn and look up to him. He looked back at her, giving her a reassuring smile until he realised she was trying to say something to him. Juice leant down a little, and she whispered to him what the man was saying.  
“He says we’re going to go through the tunnel and come out through a storeroom in a restaurant in Tijuana. There’ll be two smugglers going through with us. We walk ahead of the smugglers. If there’s someone waiting for people to come through the storeroom, we’ll say something to alert the smugglers not to come out. The runners are armed, they’ll shoot if we try anything.” Kara translated, stopping to listen to what the man was saying before speaking again.  
“Why do you think they’re sending someone with us?” Kara asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-written with the incredible codenamekaraortiz. We have loved writing this and we hope you love reading it! We'd love to hear your feedback, thank you for your support!


	3. Chapter 3

JUICE

Juice had a fair idea.  
The two men who were preparing when the group entered the room, stepped forward and started frisking everyone.  
Kara shrieked when one of the men yanked her jacket off, pulling up her shirt and setting two bricks of what Juice thought was either heroin or cocaine to her waist, taping it off before roughly pulling the shirt back down. She scrambled to pull her jacket back on.  
The same thing happened to Juice. He shook his head, figuring that this was Alvarez’s deal. His friend gave the runaways free passage through to Mexico, and in exchange the runaways muled their drugs. It was risky; the runaways could overpower the smugglers and take off with the drugs. But Juice knew very well, generally people in these situations were scared, not caring what they had to do if it meant freedom. It was human nature.  
After everyone was strapped, the man in charge began talking again.   
Kara translated, telling Juice that once they were in the storeroom, they were to give the signal to the smugglers who would come out. They were to hand over all the bricks, and then the smugglers would let them leave in smaller groups.  
“‘Don’t try anything stupid. If the restaurant owner doesn’t get the signal from the other side of the storeroom, he will dispose of us.’ Holy shit…” Kara whispered, finally understanding the gravity of the situation.  
“It’s okay. We stick together, don’t do anything we shouldn’t. We’ll be fine.” Juice said to her, but something had caught his eye.  
One of the smugglers coming through the tunnel with them was peering around the room, looking generally agitated. He kept reaching behind him, feeling for something. Juice made a note to keep as clear of him as possible.  
“They’re telling us to go into the tunnel now.” Kara said.  
There was a false floor, which the smugglers lifted up, revealing a large, crude hole.  
The man in charge gestured for the first couple of people to enter the tunnel. Juice pushed himself and Kara closer to the front. He didn’t want to be sandwiched between the crazy armed smugglers and a mob of scared people if shit hit the fan. Or when.

“So, what’s your name?” Kara asked.  
They’d been walking through the tunnel for over an hour. Juice had been very quiet, all senses on high alert.  
“Um… Diego.” Juice thought for a moment, trying to remember the small detail.  
“‘Diego.’” Kara tested the name out.  
Juice wasn’t paying a great deal of attention. His ears were tuned in to the light chatter from the smugglers, waiting to hear of any change in mood. He was coming up with a plan, for whatever the outcome.  
There were only two people ahead of himself and Kara. Juice had made sure to stay at the start of the group, overtaking anyone where he could without drawing attention to them. If the smugglers started shooting, he’d grab Kara and they’d start running for it. If they got far enough ahead, and were only followed by one shooter, he’d have a good chance of taking him down.  
He wasn’t sure why, but even though she was his wife only on paper, and in all reality was a liability, he felt the great need to look after her. Whatever her reason for hopping the border, Juice assumed it was serious, and he couldn’t stand the thought of leaving her to a terrible fate. He knew she had no idea exactly how serious it was when they stood in that room being told that they were being drug mules. He felt how scared she was when she curled up to him in the truck. After everything that he’d done, he felt it was his duty to at least get her to safety.  
“What did you do before becoming a fugitive, Diego?”  
Juice wasn’t paying her attention, her voice just background noise as he focussed on the potential danger that was waiting for them around every curve as they walked, and behind them, the armed and probably crazed men that followed.  
Juice turned his gazed to her briefly. The lighting was dim, but he could see that she had taken her hair down. It fell about her face, and she ran a hand through it, pushing it back.  
“I was, uh, a mechanic.”  
Kara looked at him, an eyebrow raised.  
“What kind of mechanic work puts you down this kind of hole?”  
“Quiet down, up there!” A low voice called out.  
Kara rolled her eyes, stuffing her hands in her pockets.  
Juice knew that even though Kara was scared, she was trying to distract herself. The walk was long and arduous, not a whole lot to keep their minds off the one-foot-in-front-of-the-other trudging. Besides their conceivable murder as the light at the end of their very long tunnel.  
“I know it’s hard, but just keep quiet, eyes forward. I need to concentrate and make sure these guys aren’t gonna pull anything while we’re not expecting it.” Juice said in a low raspy voice.  
Kara didn’t say anything, just kept her hands in her pockets.

Another long hour passed, and one of the smugglers called out for the group to stop. Juice could only just see over the other travellers heads. The smugglers took their backpacks off, setting them down on the floor.  
Juice hoped they were handing out water. He was parched, not having had anything in at least 12 hours.  
“We’re almost at the end.” One of the smugglers said, with a thick Spanish accent.  
A collective sigh fell from the group.   
Juice kept his eyes focussed on the pair, waiting for more instruction.  
“We want to thank you for all your help. You’ve done us a great service. Now we part ways.”  
The group exchanged confused looks.  
Juice saw before anyone else, the men reaching around behind their backs. A heartbeat of realisation was all that Juice needed, turning and grabbing Kara and running.  
“Just run, don’t stop!” Juice said.  
He could hear the suppressed gunshots echoing after them.  
Juice was a good runner, and if the smugglers hadn’t noticed their disappearance right away, they might just make it out.  
It wasn’t long before they heard a third set of steps coming behind them. They were a fair way ahead, but Kara was starting to lag behind and was slowing them down. The smuggler would catch up soon. Juice stopped, having rounded yet another corner of the tunnel.  
“Run ahead. Keep going until you reach the end. Hide in the storeroom. Wait until you see me before you come out. Don’t argue, just trust me.” Juice whispered.  
Kara hesitated, but nodded, hearing the smuggler’s footsteps approaching fast.  
Juice watched her go before pressing himself up against a shadowed wall. If his chaser was smart, he would realise that their footsteps were the only ones, and would be more cautious, starting to look for his hiding place  
Unfortunately for Juice, he was smart, but not smart enough. As the man rounded the corner, Juice tackled him to the ground, wrestling the gun from him. He didn’t know if it was the adrenalin, or he was just so desperate to live, but his mind went blank and he fought with everything he had. They struggled, the smuggler trying to reclaim the gun. Juice struck the man hard across the cheek with the butt of the gun, stunning him long enough to shoot him in the chest.   
The man fell limp underneath him. Juice was struck with images of Miles, the man he had killed. The situation was far too comparable and Juice felt panic rise within him.  
It was self defence, I had no choice.  
While the fear began to take over him, a voice in the back of his head was roaring at him to move. If he didn’t, the other man would come. Juice didn’t want to have to kill unless absolutely necessary. He forced himself up, gun still in hand, and ran after Kara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-written with the incredible codenamekaraortiz. We have loved writing this and we hope you love reading it! We'd love to hear your feedback, thank you for your support!


	4. Chapter 4

JUICE

Kara was waiting for him at the end of the tunnel. Juice found her leant up against the wall, clutching her side.  
“I thought I told you to wait inside!” Juice barked.  
“Couldn’t.. open... door. Stitch.” Kara panted.  
Juice didn’t have time to be mad, though he did notice her calm demeanour, despite being out of breath. He scrambled up the makeshift stairs to the second false floor they were about to go through that day. Heaving with his shoulder, he moved it up, pushing himself through and leaning the door to rest, pulling Kara through behind him before replacing the door.  
“What about the others?” Kara asked, eyeing the gun in his hand.  
“Not coming.” Juice spoke in a clipped tone, looking around erratically.  
He spotted what he needed, a box cutter sitting on top of some of the stock piled in a corner of the room. Pocketing it, he stuck the gun down the back end of his pants, covering it along with the rest of his cargo with his shirt and hoodie.  
“Come on, we need to get out of here, fast.” Juice went to the storeroom door, opening it slowly and peering around. Looking out, he saw the kitchen area, a cook bustling about, calling out for waitresses.  
Juice was deciding the best way to get out when the cook called out.  
“Gotta get something from the stockroom!”  
Swiftly, Juice pushed them behind the door, pulling the cutter out of his pocket. The cook opened the door, looking around the trapdoor, his back to them. He pulled out a phone and held it to his ear, likely calling the smugglers to see where they were.  
Juice took the opportunity to lead Kara out of the room, slipping around the door, silently walking into the kitchen area. They ducked down, keeping out of sight of waitresses and patrons, shuffling out of the doors and into the dining area.  
The diner was filled with workers and truckers, tucking into their breakfast.  
Juice’s nostrils were assaulted by the scent of the hot meals. Bacon, eggs, pancakes, all displayed before him on the various tables he passed, leading Kara through the diner.  
Kara tugged at Juice’s hand, eyes glazed over with a lust for the food she was leaving behind.  
Juice shook his head.  
“We can’t, we need to get out of here. Who knows if that other guy is going to come through the back and start shooting up the place looking for his goods.”  
“We’re not going to get out of here without a fuss, they’re gonna think we’re dining and dashing.”  
Kara wasn’t wrong. Juice could see one of the waitresses had spotted them, keeping a keen, judgemental eye on the pair.  
Juice sighed. He guided Kara to an empty booth, sitting across from her..  
“Tie your hair back up. You got money?”  
Kara nodded, shoving her hand down her shirt, rummaging around. She pulled out a wad of notes and handed them over to him.  
“Find something you want to eat on the menu, something that doesn’t take long to cook.”  
“Yes, Sir.” Kara rolled her eyes at his bluntness.  
He watched the kitchen as Kara looked over the menu. The cook had returned, not seeming too bothered that his delivery hadn’t made it on time. Juice hoped that had meant the remaining smuggler had decided to go back rather than risk coming through to find an armed Juice when a waitress approached the table.  
Kara ordered a stack of pancakes with a coffee.  
“Same for me.” Juice said when the waitress looked at him.  
She left to put their order in and Juice looked around. There was a stand by the register, filled with maps and hats, souvenir plates, tourist stuff.  
“Stay here, I’ll be back.” Juice got up, making his way over to the rack. He picked out two black caps, and a map of Mexico. Paying for them, he came back to the booth, giving Kara one of the hats.  
“Put this on, tuck your hair in where you can. We eat, and then we leave. We have to keep moving.”  
“You know, you can just ask me nicely.”  
Juice grunted, opening up the map and looking over it, figuring out their next step.  
The pancakes and coffee were served, and even Juice had to take his eyes away from the map, the smell of the butter and maple syrup too tempting.  
Stuffing there faces, Juice thought Kara was going to explode. She was bouncing in her seat as she chewed, cheeks full.  
“Keep it cool, we’re trying to fly under the radar, here.” Juice warned, but couldn’t keep the humour from his voice or the small smile from his lips.  
Kara screwed up her face, sticking the tip of her tongue out at him before continuing on.  
“Are we going to find a place somewhere to sleep?”  
“We’re headed for here.” Juice pointed on the map.  
“But that’s ages away! I’m exhausted.”  
“I know, so am I. But we need to get as far from here as we can. There’s too much danger and we’re too close to California.”  
Not only was there the potential threat of the drug smugglers, but Juice wasn’t certain that the Sons of Anarchy weren’t on his trail, with the help of Alvarez or not.  
“Ugh, fine.” Kara said, finishing up the last of her pancakes. They drank their coffee and Juice counted out the money, leaving it on the table before exiting the restaurant.

Making their way around the side of the diner, they rounded the back end where they located dumpsters. Taking off his hoodie and pulling up his shirt, he used the box cutter to cut through the thick tape, removing the bricks and handing the knife to Kara. While she cut away at the tape around her waist, Juice used his hoodie to cover his hand and clean his prints from the gun before throwing it in the dumpster.  
“Won’t we need that?” Kara asked, worry in her eyes.  
“Not if we get out of here quick enough.”  
Juice kept the knife, sliding it into his cargo pocket. He wiped off the bricks, heading back around the side of the diner.  
“What you doing with those?”  
Juice stopped and turned to face Kara, slight annoyance growing.  
“I’m going to leave them where the cook can  
find them. That way, if the smugglers come through, they might not pursue us if they get their drugs back. Now, wait here.”  
Juice stealthily walked back down the side of the diner, coming to the staff door. He lay the bricks down on the doorstep, banging hard with his fist on the door before legging it back to Kara.  
Hearing the door open, they waited, Juice chancing a look around the corner to see the cook bending down to pick up the bricks.  
With one last glance around, the cook took them into the kitchen, closing the door behind him.  
“Come on, let’s go.”


	5. Chapter 5

JUICE

“We’re walking?”  
“Yes, Kara, we are walking. I want as few people to see our faces around here as possible.”  
“Don’t you think we’re going to be a little conspicuous, wandering alongside the highway for miles and miles?”  
They’d barely made it out of the diner parking lot. The constant questioning of his plan was really starting to grate on Juice. Now that they weren’t in the face of danger, Kara had become less trusting of him, and at least 15 times more aggravating.  
“You can damn well stay here if you like, but I don’t want to give anyone the opportunity of finding me so easily. The marriage is only on paper, you can go piss someone else off and I’ll go find some peace.”  
“Wow. Rude. Anyway, you need me.” Juice stopped, snorting out a laugh, looking at her.  
“I need you?”   
“You have no money. How are you going to get anywhere?”  
Juice pointed at his legs.  
“Yeah, ok, sure, what about food?” Juice wiggled his fingers at her, before turning around to keep walking.  
“There’s no telling how long it’ll take you to find work. And if you’re trying to fly under that radar, shoplifting isn’t exactly going to keep you there. Plus, you’d have nowhere to sleep. All of these things you need? I can provide.”  
Juice groaned, rolling his eyes. He stopped again, crossing his arms and putting on his best patronising tone.  
“I’ll make you a deal. If you can shut up for 2 whole hours, I will try and wave us down a ride to Mexicali. If you can manage that, I won’t kill you and steal your money. Think you can handle that?”  
Kara looked him dead in the eye, expressionless for a moment before a sly grin spread across her face.  
“You wouldn’t kill me, I’m your wife!” She strolled right past him, leaving him in his frustration.  
Juice followed behind, battling with the idea of whether it would be easier for him to break the deal and do away with her or to be a gentleman and look after her.  
Juice was starting to sway towards uxoricide. Between the blisters on his feet that were starting to form; the plain, boring landscape that he’d been staring at for over 2 hours, and now the constant sound of Kara’s voice that had started up the second she was allowed to talk, he wondered if maybe he could find a car that would take just her.  
“It’s definitely been two hours. Stick your thumb out.” Kara said.  
“No. I’ve still got at least twenty more minutes of silence.”  
“Shut up, it’s been two hours.”  
“Fine, if we have to talk, then let’s make it about the plan. How much money did you bring with you?”  
“About a grand. I gave you half when you asked me for money before. But I know how we can make some more.”  
“What are you talking about?” Juice turned around, coming to a complete stop when he saw what was in her hand.   
“What the fuck is that?”  
Kara had a look of pride plastered to her face. In her hand sat a balloon, and Juice knew it was filled with whatever it was they’d trafficked into Tijuana.  
“I grabbed it in the room where they strapped us with the bricks. They were sitting on the table. I could have grabbed more but you’d pulled me away before I could get it.”  
Juice’s eyes were wide, filled with disbelief.  
“They frisked us! Where did you hide it?”  
Kara pulled the tie from her hair. Putting the balloon on the underside, she rolled it up into her hair, securing it with the tie. She adjusted her hair to make sure the rubber was covered and showed Juice.  
“When we were in the tunnel, I slipped it into my pocket, so it wouldn’t fall out.”  
Juice was stunned, unable to speak for the moment. Kara was still smiling at him and he wasn’t sure whether to be pissed that she put them in that danger or impressed.  
“I used to-”  
“NO! No, I don’t wanna know. Just give it to me.”  
“What? No! We can sell it, get some more money to get where we’re going.”  
“How many times do I have to tell you, we need to keep a low profile. This kind of shit is going to get you killed, and then me killed, because we’re married and all. Cartels and smugglers don't care if the documents are real or fake. They’ll kill us both. Now give that to me.” Juice stepped to her, holding his hand out.  
Kara pulled the balloon back out of her hair, moving it towards her pocket before Juice grabbed her arm. She tightened her hold, Juice grabbing the tied end of the balloon. Digging her nails in, she pulled against Juice’s hard grip.  
“Give it to me, Kara!”  
“No!”  
As if to defuse the situation, the balloon popped, sending the white powder billowing around them in a cloud.  
Kara shrieked, before following suit and covering her nose and mouth with her shirt like Juice had done.  
The breeze blew the powder away and Juice dropped the shirt from his face, anger burning in his eyes.  
“Don’t pull any bullshit like that with me again.” He warned, storming off before he gave her the chance to respond.  
“I cannot believe I’m saddled with someone like you!” Kara exclaimed.  
Juice was too heated to let it go.   
“Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?!”  
“You’re a criminal! And you’re nasty and rude.”  
Juice threw his hands up in the air, nostrils flared. He’d had about all he could stand of her.  
“Well I’m sorry, Princess, that this is not everything you dreamed of when you decided to run away to Mexico. But unfortunately for you, you’re stuck with the street rat until we can sort this out, Jasmine.”  
Kara paused, glaring at Juice.  
“You know my name isn’t Jasmine.”  
“Yeah, and I’m not Aladdin. I don’t have a magic carpet to fly us anywhere or a damn genie, because if I did, I’d wish you away!!” His voice was getting louder and more hysterical the more he spoke.  
Kara balled her fist, leaning towards him, biting back.   
“Yeah, well at least I’m trying to work as a team! You just go around telling me what to do, like I have no clue about getting into trouble. You’re not so badass if you’re flinging out Disney references!”  
Juice leant down, getting right in her face, completely furious that she thought she knew him.  
“You wanna know why I’m running?”  
“Yes, because then I might be able to understand why you have the emotional range of a two year old!”  
“You heard of the Sons of Anarchy? I was one of them.”   
Kara’s eyes widened.   
“Yeah, that’s right, I was a biker.”  
Kara didn’t move, but Juice saw the expression on her face change from challenging him to fearing him.  
“My prez made me do some horrible shit. Things that we’re not supposed to do, but I did it, because I was loyal. That shit ate me up inside. I got off my face, confessed to the wrong person. I was labelled a rat and a traitor. Now I’m here with you.”  
Juice hadn’t spoken to anybody since telling Nero. Even though he hadn’t planned on telling her, getting it out felt like a small weight being lifted from him. “Diego, I-”  
“I killed a woman.” Now that he'd started he couldn't stop his confession. “She had two kids. One of them died, because we ran guns. The other was with his dad. We don’t kill women or children. But I killed an innocent woman because I was the loyal lapdog to a mad king. That badass enough for you?”  
Juice stopped, swallowing heavily. The look of horror that flashed across Kara’s face calmed him. He knew now that she understood the gravity of his situation, a least a little better. She stepped back, composing herself.  
He knew she was just trying to help, he just wished she wouldn’t.  
“We just gotta make this work until we figure out the next step. You need me, I need you, and for the foreseeable future, we are stuck together.”  
Kara crossed her arms, frowning at the ground. She nodded, and they began their journey again.


	6. Chapter 6

JUICE

“Kara, what’s wrong? You getting tired?”  
Kara had been slowly falling behind, struggling to keep up. She’d begun limping and holding her side. Sweat poured out of her and her face was pale.  
“Something like that.” She replied, stopping to catch her breath.  
Juice walked over to her, getting a closer look at the situation.  
“What’s wrong with your side?”  
“I told you before, in the tunnel, it’s a stitch.”  
Juice shook his head, moving her hand to see a patch of blood coming through her shirt. Lifting it, he saw a bloodied bandage, one of the sides coming away. Peeling it back a little further, Juice saw stitches that were coming away from the skin.  
“Kara! What the fuck? ‘A stitch’? Is that some sick joke?”  
“I must be terrible for your blood pressure.” She joked, wincing with the pain.  
“I can’t take you to a hospital. If someone is looking for you and knows your name, they’ll find the paper trail. They’ll find us.”  
Juice was deep in thought when he lifted his head, hearing something before he saw it. Looking back to Kara, he stepped to the edge of the road, sticking out his thumb. “What are you doing?”  
“What does it look like? I’m getting us a lift.”  
The highway had plenty of traffic for most of the day. No one stopped for them, they hadn’t asked. But this time around, Juice hoped they would pull over.  
The black Jeep slowed as it got closer to them, pulling over slightly. Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine” was playing as the driver rolled down the window. Juice scoffed, the world playing one sick joke on him after another.  
“Where you guys headed?” A young, American teen, no older than 18 asked.  
“Mexicali. Can you take us?” Juice asked, seeing a girl sitting in the passenger seat.  
“We have money!” Kara said, pulling some notes out from her shirt.  
“Hop in.” The guy smiled. Juice helped Kara into the car, securing her in and buckling up next to her.  
Juice and Kara were thankful that the couple were more into talking about themselves than asking questions about them.  
While the girl rattled off all the different places they were visiting, Kara had fallen to sleep, leaning up against the window. Her hair fell across her face and he reached out, tucking it behind her ear.  
“So, what are you guys doing walking along the highway?” The guy asked.  
“Oh, uh, we’re on our honeymoon.” Juice chuckled, making up a story about their car breaking down and they thought they’d try hoof it to Tecate.  
That seemed to satisfy him, and he told a tale about how he’d hitchhiked from Seattle to Texas.  
It didn’t matter if it was true or not. Juice would listen to anything the guy had to say if it meant getting to Mexicali without having to walk.  
Mexicali was alive and well awake by the time Juice and Kara got out of the Jeep. The city was buzzing, people everywhere.  
Juice thanked the couple, who declined the offer of money, helping Kara as they walked over to a motel. He sat her down on a bench outside the office, going inside to book a room.  
The motel was plain, but cheap, and above all, clean.  
Juice helped Kara again, letting her lean into him so he could walk with her to their room. Once they were inside, she lay on the bed.  
“I’m going to go get us something to eat and grab some supplies. Is there anything I can get you?”  
“More pancakes from that diner, please.”  
Juice managed a chuckled.  
“Sure, I’ll head back now, see you in three days.”  
Kara laughed once, grabbing her side.  
“I’ll be back soon. Don’t answer the door.”  
As he left, Juice hung a “do not disturb” sign on the door handle. Heading back to the office, he asked if there was a supermarket close by. The office manager pointed in the direction.  
Finding it easily enough, Juice grabbed some chips, bottles of water, protein bars, anything that would last on the road. The medicine aisle had everything that Juice would need to patch Kara up.  
Paying for his purchases, he pulled the hat down lower over his face before getting back to the motel room. 

Kara was asleep when he came in.  
“Hey, wake up, time for surgery.” Juice said, shaking her shoulder gently.  
“Noooo!” She whined, rubbing her eyes, jolting when something landed on the bed next to her.  
“Eat that, then have a shower. I’ll patch you up.”  
Juice sat on the armchair, chugging down water and eating a protein bar. He watched her, her nose scrunched up as she picked up the bar.  
“Couldn’t have gotten me Subway, or something?”  
“Trying to save money, princess. We got a long way to go and I don’t know how we’re gonna get there. Bon appetit.”  
Sighing, Kara tore open the package and began to eat. She took her shower as she was told, getting back into her clothes and laid back on the bed when she was done.  
Juice washed his hands, sitting on the bed next to her.  
“Take this.” Juice said, giving her ibuprofen and another bottle of water to wash it down.  
He’d lain all the stitching equipment out. Heating up the needle with a lighter, we wiped it as well as some fishing line down with medical alcohol.  
“This is gonna hurt. You have free reign to talk about whatever you want to distract yourself, as long as you don’t distract me with questions.”  
“Your bedside manner is great. You should have become a nurse, not a biker mechanic. Ahh!” Kara yelped.  
In the midst of her witticisms, Juice had cleaned the cut with antiseptic, without giving her a heads up.  
“I suppose you’re dying to know why I ran away to Mexico.”  
Juice grunted, threading the line through the curved needle.  
“Riveted, I see. I grew up in Stockton, rich white family, you know what I mean? Was doing alright until I got mixed up with a guy who was a drug dealer. Heavy shit, not just weed or whatever.  
“At first, I just hung out with them, he’d buy me loads of stuff in the beginning, bust me out of my parents place late at night. Then we started getting serious, and he wanted me in on the business. He and his brother thought it’d be good to have a girl helping out. Not the usual suspect. Ouch!!”  
Kara winced, Juice hitting a sensitive spot.  
“Anyway, my parents found out about the guy, told me I wasn’t coming home unless I left him. By that point, I was in too deep, had seen too much and knew too many people to run back to our estate. I didn’t really wanna be back at home, I’d cut too many strings there, everyone hated me for what I was doing. But I didn’t wanna stay with him, either.”  
Juice listened as she spoke, not saying anything as he worked on pulling out the broken stitches and replacing them with new ones. It was the usual story. Rich girl doesn’t want to do as she’s told, goes rebel, realises she’s not cut out for it. Juice had seen it happen enough times to know.  
“I started growing distant, trying to get enough money to get out and go somewhere. But one night, I walked in on…” Kara stopped, and Juice did too.  
If he knew one thing about her, she had no problem talking. “What’d you see?”  
Kara rubbed her eyes, not looking at Juice, and cleared her throat. “I came back home after going and getting food and I walked in to see a guy strapped to a kitchen chair. It was one of our buyers. I’d seen him plenty of times, and he was getting further behind with payments.  
“He was kicking and screaming, and when I looked over to the couch he was facing, I saw my ex, and his brother… They were… Messing with the guys wife.”  
Juice didn’t have to ask what she meant. He knew. “When they noticed me, they shot the guy and then his wife.  
“They used to deal for The Mayans,” Kara changed the subject. “But they got too big for their boots and stepped on The Mayans toes. Stopped dealing for them, but kept dealing in Stockton, tried to get into Charming. They were smart bastards, though, always managed to evade Alvarez and his Stockton crew. Always moving houses, leaving without a trace.  
“I had hung out with the biker crew many times, from when they were working with my ex. I knew if I could get to them, I could offer them information about my ex and they could get me out of there, and get rid of their problem.  
“My ex and his brother stabbed me, and I passed out, woke up to see them setting fire to the bodies. I heard my ex telling his brother to leave me alone, and he did, probably knew he didn’t have time to do something to me before the house went up. I stayed still, waiting until I heard them drive away before I got up.  
“I had money hidden in a box in an air vent. Nearly passed out again trying to get it, but I did. Managed to get out before the house went up. No point going to police. They knew the crowd I ran with.”  
Juice had nearly finished his stitches.  
“Your parents wouldn’t have accepted you back? Knowing you’d made a mistake?”  
Kara shook her head.  
Juice knew the feeling, and let her continue.  
“I was friends with one of the Stockton Mayans, and I called his number, hoping he would still help me out. We’d always gotten along, and he’d still spoken to me even after what my ex did to him and his club. He answered and I told him what happened. He picked me up at a bus stop that I’d managed to walk to. Got his club’s doctor to stitch me up. I told him that if he and Alvarez wanted information, I would give them whatever they needed if they could get me to Mexico.”  
“And then you got stuck with me.” Juice said, wiping the wound with antiseptic again.  
“Yeah, well, still a better alternative.” Kara said, taking a look. “You’re pretty handy with a needle. Were you a seamstress for the club, too?”  
“Very funny, asshole.” Juice replied, bandaging the wound and giving it a light tap when he was done, making her wince.  
“No. One of my club brothers was a medic.”  
Kara didn’t ask anything else about it, and Juice was quietly thankful. He didn’t want to be reminded of Chibs, his best friend in the club.  
They sat quietly, not really sure what to say, the mood a lot heavier with Kara’s revelations. But in true Kara style, she didn’t stop talking for long.  
“So, do you know why Alvarez made us betrothed?” Juice scoffed.  
“Who knows. Never liked The Sons, even when we were doing business together. Any chance to make a Son’s life more difficult, I suppose.”  
“Aw, come on, I’m a delight!” Kara said.  
“You’re something, alright.” He responded.  
Pulling out the map, he spread it over the mattress, studying it again.


	7. Chapter 7

JUICE

“Okay, so we’re going to…”  
Juice said nothing for a moment, still working out the best route to take. He’d been pouring over the map all afternoon, letting Kara rest.  
Juice knew that protein bars weren’t going to make a nutritious dinner, so he risked heading out while she slept to get some decent food.  
“Hermosillo, then go from there, making our way down the coast until we hit Manzanillo. I was looking it up today in the internet cafe. Touristy, but not as intense as, say, Mexico City.”  
“Do you think it’s far enough down?” Kara asked, taking a huge bite out of her burrito.  
“I think so. If we don’t stop in too many places, don’t get seen, any leads on our direction should come to nothing. But if we have to, we pick up and leave.”  
Kara nodded, still chewing, looking at the map sprawled open on the bed. She was keen to follow Juice’s lead, now that she understood him, and the situation better.  
“Are we gonna hitchhike?  
“At least from here to Hermosillo. We don’t have a great deal of money and we need to spread it out. We don’t know how far people will be willing to take us, and we need money for food and accommodation.”  
“You know…”  
“Princess, are you going to suggest something illegal?”  
Kara looked up, offended at the accusation.  
“No! Well… Yes. We could steal a car.”  
Juice breathed in heavily, giving her the look that warned her she was pressing on his nerves again.  
“Just listen! We steal it from someone bad. Not bad enough that they’ll chase us down or anything. Like, a guy who locks his dog in the car while he’s at a strip club and doesn’t leave the window down.”  
“How many pain killers did you take?”  
“Only the ones you gave me, why?”  
Juice stood up, heading for the bathroom.  
“I’m just wondering if you were ODing or if you really are that whacked in the head.”  
“It was just a suggestion. Try to poop out some of that bad mood while you’re in there.” Kara replied as Juice shut the door on her.  
Sitting on the toilet, he rested his head in his hands.  
They’d agreed that they would continue to stay together, until Kara was healed, they’d gotten a steady job and could afford to part ways.  
He would just have to survive the next few months. It wouldn’t be that hard. If he could survive the Sons of Anarchy, he could survive anything.

“Diego! I can’t stand this anymore! For the love of God, steal your wife a car so she doesn’t have to go through this ONE. MORE. DAMN. TIME!”  
Juice growled, shutting his eyes as another truck rolled passed them on the highway. He kept his thumb out, waiting for another vehicle to come by, hoping they would be generous and give them a lift.  
They’d successfully reached Mazatlan without many issues. It had taken two days, and four kind drivers to get out there, the journey coming to a halt at a truck stop.  
While Juice was finishing his lunch, Kara had used her Spanish and a little of her womanly wiles to get a trucker to agree to taking them the rest of the way. However, the very generous truck driver had taken them via the scenic route of Durango and was heading down to Guadalajara.  
Juice was irate, but also glad they were on the move. Until he was far away from the US border, he was paranoid that someone would recognise him and he’d be right back in California, paying for his sins.  
“So, when you asked this guy if he was heading to Manzanillo, he said ‘yes’ and then you... Zoned out?” Juice asked, when he realised they were heading away from the coastline and no longer following it.  
“My Spanish is not flawless.” Kara snapped.  
They had spent most of the trip in silence, to the dismay of the driver, who was the chatty type.  
After stopping at a petrol station in Durango, Juice and Kara decided it might be better to find alternative transport.  
Juice had been giving the rides cash as a way to say thank you. He couldn’t stand taking a ride without giving something, but the funds were dwindling. They’d managed to get a ride from a lumberyard worker to El Salto, which they’d passed by on the way to Durango.  
Juice had decided that he was going to be the one to find them a lift, no longer trusting Kara’s abilities.  
When he’d told her this, she’d gotten upset, sitting on a tree stump by the side of the road.  
“What are you doing?”  
“Just waiting for you to find us a ride. Go, Diego, go!”  
If it hadn’t have been for playing and watch TV with Jax’s son Abel on the few times he’d babysat, the reference to Dora the Explorer’s lesser known cousin would have gone over his head.  
He stomped off, determined, and while Kara had followed him very shortly after their tiff, he couldn’t disagree with her ranting.  
Juice was so desperate to get to Manzanillo. Even though he felt safer being on the move, he was tired of staying in crappy motels, eating cheap fast food, not having a permanent residence.  
“Alright, dear wife,’ he annunciated. “You want a car? Let’s go get you a car.”  
Kara stood still, not sure if he was just being a snarky prick, or if he was for real. But when Juice started walking back towards town, her spirits soon lifted and she was near skipping alongside of him.

Finding a secondhand car yard, Juice had looked around for security cameras, but didn’t see anything. The place was relatively busy, and the few salesmen looked like they had their hands full.  
Pulling Kara to the side, he told her the plan. While she went in and asked to be shown some cars, she would cause a distraction. He gave her go ahead to distract them however she pleased.  
Juice would go to the first car he could find that he could hotwire and easily get out of the yard. They would meet in fifteen minutes a few blocks away.  
Juice was beginning to feel bad for stealing from what he assumed were good, hard-working people, when he noticed his wife acting strangely.  
Kara held her breath as long as she could, her face turning red. She did this a few times, letting out the air and taking a gasping breath. Grabbing the bottle of water she’d been drinking from, she sprayed it onto her face, and under her arms. Juice looked at her in complete confusion, but she handed it over to him with a confident smile before putting on a struggled walk to get into the yard.  
Juice stuffed the bottle into their backpack and waited a few minutes before slipping around the gate of the yard and along the first row of cars he met. There were a few trucks, the hoods opened. He looked under them, settling on a brown 1970 Ford F100. Milling about, trying to look interested, he waited for the commotion to come.  
“MIOS DIO!” Kara’s voice rang out.  
Juice took that as his cue, lowering the hood of the car and opening the driver side door. He heard Kara dramatising in Spanish, no idea what she was saying as he used his box cutter to strip the wires and hotwire the car. Pulling the price tag off the front window, he stashed it in the passenger side footwell.  
Edging the car out slowly, he waited for someone to come after him, but was met with no resistance. Juice rolled the car out of the yard slowly, cruising out of the yard and down the streets, pulling over to the side when he reached the meet point, the truck idling.  
It was an electronics store they had passed on the way back in, and Kara had remarked that they should see if they sold burner phones.  
Juice felt a pang of guilt about stealing the car. He really didn’t want to keep going with an outlaw lifestyle, but the desperation had overtaken him. He smirked as he thought of leaving Kara in town as a sort of payment for the car, but figured that’d probably earn him more bad karma than good.  
It wasn’t long before a damp but joyful Kara joined him. She buckled up without saying a word, ready to go. Juice drove off, heading back towards Mazatlan.  
He kept looking over at Kara, waiting for her to say something. She just kept looking out the window, smug smile on her face.  
“Okay, tell me, what did you do, mastermind?”  
Kara whipped around to look at Juice, her eyes shining with excitement.  
“I thought you’d never ask! While you were stealing our magic carpet, Street Rat, I was giving the best performance that those people have ever seen!”  
“You stripped? Ouch!” Juice asked, grinning and yelping as Kara smacked him on the arm.  
Kara explained that she’d gone to one of the salesmen, dripping with “sweat”. She told the man that she had been stabbed a few days ago, and wasn’t feeling well. An attack of sharp pains had riddled her body, and she passed out, attracting the attention of most everyone there. After waking up from her state, she explained that she had been poorly patched up, but left on the side of the road in a country she didn’t know, with nothing.  
After assuring everyone that her fevered episode had passed, they got her a coffee and she sat for a few minutes, people fussing over her. The head salesman came out, and handed her-  
“Four thousand pesos!!” Kara waved the bills around, doing a dance in her seat.  
Juice slammed on the brakes, throwing them both forward.  
“Kara! You can’t take money from these people!”  
“You took one of their cars!” She pointedly replied.  
Juice rested his forehead on the steering wheel, feeling a stress wrinkle growing.  
Taking a deep breath and accelerating again, Juice’s fists clenched the wheel, his knuckles going white.  
“Diego, I didn’t want to take it. I tried to stop them, but they were so worried about me that they insisted. We’re gonna pay them back. I grabbed a business card. Once we make enough money in Manzanillo, we’ll send them the money back. For the car and what they gave me. Won’t take long.”  
Juice sighed again, not feeling so upset. Smiling a little, he nodded.  
“It’s Juice.”  
“Huh?”  
“My name is Juice Ortiz. Well, Juan Carlos Ortiz, but Juice is what everyone called me.”  
Juice saw Kara smiling over at him. It was the first time he’d reached out to her, without being angry, and he figured she’d deserved it after all her efforts.  
“Thank you for telling me that.”  
“Thank you for not saying that Juice is a stupid name.”  
“Oh, it’s definitely a stupid name, but we were having a moment, so I’m just keeping it to myself.”  
Juice veered the car towards the oncoming lane, causing Kara to shriek and laugh.  
She leant forward, fiddling with the radio dials. When she couldn’t make it work, she sat back and began singing.  
“On the road again… I just can’t wait to get on the road again…”


	8. Chapter 8

JUICE

Kara had been singing road trip songs for many miles. Juice assumed that her voice would give out, but she kept on going right up until they were just outside of Manzanillo.  
Her impression of Johnny Cash even had Juice smiling, tapping his hands on the steering wheel.  
“Juice, can we pull over? I’m dying. I need a burger, or pizza, just something that doesn’t come wrapped in tin foil.”  
“But something wrapped in paper is alright?” Juice mocked.  
He knew how she felt, though. Juice was always such a good eater, and he had missed proper meals and was getting sick of the bars himself. But his determination to live outweighed his need for 5 serves of vegetables a day. Burgers were a fine substitute for the situation.  
“You know what I mean! We’ve been living off protein bars and whatever else that comes vacuum sealed and I need something greasy and hot.”  
“Coming right up. Just give me an hour in the sun working on the car.”  
“Oh my Lord, did Juice Ortiz make a joke?” She feigned shock.  
“I’m gonna drive right past this truck stop.”  
“No! If we don’t eat some proper food, we’re not going to be able to appreciate our new home!” Kara whined.  
Juice turned and parked in the lot outside the diner. They ordered large meals in celebration of finally getting to their destination.  
Driving through Manzanillo, Juice had to admit, it was an incredibly beautiful place. Old and new architecture complemented each other. It was busy, but comfortable, not crowded like a lot of tourism hotspots.  
Arriving at the beach, they parked and got out of the truck to take it all in. The sky was clear and the water was an enticing blue, with gorgeous golden sands.  
Juice watched as Kara stood on a brick wall overlooking the beach, stretching out her arms, her face turned so the sun’s warmth could wash over it.  
“Welcome home.” Kara turned to him, her big grin plastered on her face.  
While he figured there wasn’t a lot that was going to hurt him in Manzanillo, he began to feel anxiety bubbling up within him. This is where they were staying. He would have no clue if someone had caught up with them.  
But he couldn’t run forever. And here in Manzanillo was where he was crossing the finish line.

KARA

As big of a pain in the ass as Juice had been, she had to admit, he’d been helpful.  
Kara knew, but would never tell him; not even under torture or threat of death, that she felt this way, but she’d never have survived without him.  
Plus, he had a cute butt.  
So many things about Juice Ortiz confused her. He’d given away so little, and yet she could see there was so much more to him than a moody runaway biker.  
There was so much suffering and worry on so young a man, and she was worried for him.  
Seeing his mood shift from paranoid and angry to less paranoid and playful, Kara vowed to do her best to help him stay that way. She wasn’t prepared to eat energy bars for dinner again, though.  
“Please, no, I’ve had a taste for real food, I can’t go back to this again!”  
Kara held up a slightly crushed protein bar, dangling it in front of Juice’s face.  
Juice sighed, rubbing his hands over his face.  
“Come on, Juice, I’m not asking for lobster or a buffet, I just want something that doesn’t taste like cardboard.”  
Kara watched his face as he reasoned with himself.   
Now that they’d stopped moving and were in a small motel in Manzanillo, Juice’s paranoia had started to creep back in again. He’d been keeping an eye out the window, making sure all openings were fixed shut. He kept the boxcutter on him at all times, and Kara had promised not to leave the room, but put her foot down at hiding in the closet while he took a shower.  
He had been trying, though. He’d made sure she’d had enough to eat, took her shopping to get some proper shampoo and soap and found a place with a TV. It was black and white TV, about the size of a block of cheese, but it was better than nothing, and Kara appreciated it.  
“We might not get jobs right away, and we need to find a cheaper place to stay, we need to save this money.”  
“Juice, if you don’t let me get a two dollar taco, I’m going to beat you with this monstrosity, I’m walking out of this door right now and going to get it myself.” Kara said, backing up against the door, pointing at her weapon of protein.  
Juice groaned for what Kara felt was the 15th time that day.  
“Fine. But we’re coming back here to eat.”  
“Fine, senor Grumpyass.” Kara replied, dropping the bar into the wastebasket by the door and walking outside.

“Okay, I’ll admit, this was a good idea.” Juice said.  
They were kicked back on the bed, eating too many tacos, drinking beer. The TV was playing a movie in Spanish, and Kara was translating for Juice.  
“Told you. Didn’t even go over budget.”  
“Yeah, yeah.” Juice rolled his eyes, smirking.  
Juice took a long pull from his beer, and Kara looked him over.  
He very rarely went without his hoodie, but he’d taken it off in the motel room. Tattoos were placed up his arms, some peeking out from under the sleeves of his shirt.  
“How many tattoos do you have, exactly?”  
Juice stopped mid-bite, chewing slowly and swallowing before answering.  
“A few.”  
Kara huffed, shaking her head.  
“What’s a few? I mean I know you have the ones on your head, and you seem to have a whole bunch on your arms there.”  
Juice’s demeanour changed, and he seemed uncomfortable in his own skin.  
Kara felt a bit bad. She wasn’t trying to make him feel that way, she just wanted to get to know him, especially since she was going to be around him for some time.  
But then he did something that surprised her. He rolled up the rest if his shirt sleeve, exposing all his arm tattoos.  
“You can look, but don’t ask questions. I have some on my chest, but I don’t want to tempt you, so they stay covered.” Juice joked.  
It was forced, and the smile he gave didn’t quite reach his eyes, but it was better than a grunt or her getting a lecture to mind her business.  
Kara looked over all the pieces, noting how well they were done, admiring the artist’s detail. Getting to the larger skeletal one on his left forearm, she studied it, until Juice pulled his arm away.  
“That your club emblem or something?” She asked.  
Juice got up, grabbing his hoodie and pulling it on.  
“Yeah, something.”  
Kara moved over on the bed as Juice began to clear the rubbish from dinner. He put everything in the basket before turning off the TV.  
“So, you gotta get rid of it? Or do you still get to rep it?” Kara continued, thinking Juice was preparing to sit down for a deep and meaningful conversation.  
Instead, he pulled back the blankets on the bed, tucking himself under them and rolling away from her.  
“I told you, no questions.”  
“Come on, you can tell me! Your old buddy, old pal Kara. Been through the tunnel of death, walked halfway to Mexicali, nearly went full Bonnie and Clyde stealing the truck-”  
“Kara!” Juice yelled, rolling over, no mistaking the severity of his seriousness.  
“This isn’t up for discussion.” His voice was stern and harsh, and Kara’s expression dropped.  
She hadn’t meant to upset him, but she knew she’d gone too far.   
Juice’s tone when he spoke next suggested that he might have, as well.  
“Just… Get some sleep. We got another big day tomorrow.”  
Juice rolled back over and turned off the lamp on his bedside table, leaving Kara with only the dim neon light that made it’s way through the motel curtains.  
Kara eased down next to him, rolled in the opposite direction, wide awake. She could only assume Juice was doing the same. As she lay there, thinking about what their time together would be like, she wondered how long it would take before it got easier.


	9. Chapter 9

JUICE

After apologising to Kara for his outburst, but refusing to answer anymore questions, Juice slept soundly on their first night in Manzanillo. He felt bad for snapping at her, but he wasn’t ready. He needed time.   
Kara had accepted his apology after they’d laid in silence together for an hour, and they both passed out, so tired from the travel and so elated that they had made it.  
Both he and Kara had gone out for a hearty breakfast, Juice eager to find work and begin the next stage of life as Diego and Kara.   
“Can’t we just be tourists for a few days! We have that extra money now, we could have some fun before we have to start working.” Kara said, following Juice out of the cafe.  
“No. We need to get jobs and start earning money. Find a place to live. That money won’t last.”  
Kara scoffed, but followed him anyway.  
Most of the stores had already hired the people they needed for the summer. Juice tried a mechanic’s garage. They didn’t need anyone, but the owner told Juice to check in every now and again.  
Walking into a general store to grab some lunch, Kara showed Juice a help wanted poster she’d seen in the window.

_Staff needed for Surf and Snorkel Shack. Instructors and desk workers wanted. English speakers preferred. See Manuel on Playa La Audiencia._

“Good find, Princess.”  
Finishing off their sandwiches and drinks, they ventured out to Playa La Audiencia.  
The beach was popular with both locals and tourists. Juice and Kara wove around the people, walking along the beach towards their potential new employer.  
Kara had taken her shoes off, squishing her feet in the sand and walking through the water as it pulled in and out.  
“You’re gonna need some different clothes down here.” Kara commented.  
Juice’s boots were heavy in the sand, his cargo pants hot for that time of year.  
“Let’s find jobs first, then you can give me a makeover.”  
A long pier came down the beach and out into the water, a boat ramp on one side. A sign reading “Surf and Snorkel” sat on top of a shack on the pier.   
“I speak English but I’m fluent in Spanish and have a lot of experience in surfing and snorkelling.” Kara said to Manuel, the man who owned the business.  
“We need someone to work in the equipment store, handing out sizes, picking the equipment up when people leave it out on the pier, that kind of thing.” Manuel turned to Juice.  
“Sounds great, I speak fluent English.” Juice said in a flat tone.  
“You can also help with our English-speaking customers, maybe even work in the bar if I need you.”  
“My husband’s really friendly, too, great social skills.” Kara quipped, receiving a warning look from Juice.  
“Oh, you are married? Wonderful!”  
Manuel explained that the job was seasonal, and that they’d come at the right time. Tourism was up from the last year and he was looking for more people to help with the workload.  
“A lot of my workers are travellers, looking for something that they can do while they enjoy their time here, to make some extra cash for their next journey. Are you both here for the season?”  
“We’re here for now, if it works out, we’ll stay on.” Kara said.  
Manuel nodded, going into his office, reappearing soon with a stack of clothes.  
“We’ll start your trial tomorrow, see how you go.”  
“Do you know of anywhere we could live that’s close to here?” Juice asked.  
“Most of my workers live in my little trailer park I have.” Manuel pointed up the beach, the opposite direction that Juice and Kara had come.   
“They stay there for cheaper rent. Being close means they’re less likely to come in late.” Manuel joked, winking at Kara and she giggled.  
“Did you drive here?”   
Juice nodded.   
“Come on, I’ll take you there.”  
Juice and Kara walked Manuel to their truck and Manuel drove them over to the trailer park. It was a short drive, a fifteen minute walk according to Manuel.  
“It’s got all the necessities, and you can move in right away.” He said, unlocking the door to the airstream trailer.  
Juice stepped into the van first, looking around. It was a bit musty, but it was open, for the size of it. A small kitchenette, fridge, booth to eat at, a couch, bathroom and bed. It would work.  
“This is great!” Kara said, pushing past Juice and looking around, opening and closing cupboards as she went.  
Manuel gave them a set of keys. “See you both at 7am.”  
Juice brought both of their bags into the van. Setting them down, Kara came out of the bathroom, smiling.  
“This is gonna be great. We can get some new bedding, a tablecloth, some lights.”  
“You’re gonna be sleeping on the couch.”  
Kara stopped redecorating the trailer in her head and looked to Juice.  
“Say what, Street Rat?”  
“I need the bed, I won’t fit on the couch. You need to take it, it’s the perfect size for you.”  
Kara clicked her tongue, annoyed that Juice had gone back to his law-giving tendencies.  
“Why can’t we just share the bed? We did in the motels.”  
“That’s because there wasn’t anything else to sleep on in them. We had to. Now, we don’t.”  
“Well why don’t you sleep out in the truck! That’d be the chivalrous thing to do.”  
Now it was Juice’s turn to be pissed.  
“Look, we only have to play happy couple while we’re out there.” Juice pointed out the window over the kitchen sink.   
“In here, we just have to not get on each other’s nerves. The couch looks comfortable, you’ll be fine. We can put a divider up or something if you want, to give you more privacy.”  
Kara might have wanted to play house, but Juice was there to make enough money to decide whether staying was an option. Sure, he’d been able to relax a little on the way down to Manzanillo. He’d even admit that he’d had some fun, sometimes enjoying her company.   
But this marriage was part of a business transaction. He hadn’t known it was part of the transaction, but it was what he had gotten. Despite the fact that he hadn’t signed up to be married, he felt it his duty to make sure Kara was safe, that she was out of danger and able to look after herself.  
For now, he was stuck with her.  
After a little pouting, Kara nodded. “Okay. I’ll take the couch.”  
Juice looked surprised. Generally, Kara would put up more of a fight. He felt a little bad, being so sharp with her.  
“Wanna go shopping for some stuff? Ya know, to pretty it up a bit?” Juice offered.  
Kara looked up at him, excitement in her eyes.  
“Yeah? Maybe I could get some new curtains, some lamps, a decorative fern!”  
“How about we start with some sheets and some dishes. Perhaps a fork or a spoon?”  
“Oh, yeah, I guess we need them.”  
The excitement had faded a little, and Juice felt worse for dangling the carrot and then snatching it away.  
“Maybe we could get the decorative fern, though.”  
Kara squealed, grabbing the truck keys from the bench and running out of the trailer.  
“I’m driving!” Juice called.  
“You can ride bitch!” He heard her yell back, and the sound of the engine turning over.  
Juice rolled his eyes, pulling the door shut behind him. This was going to be an interesting shopping trip.

Juice’s eyes opened, and he breathed in a sharp gasp. Beads of sweat sat on his forehead, and he sat up, palming his eyes.   
It was a common dream, but always left Juice a little disorientated when he awoke.  
Miles leaning over him. He was going to kill Juice, so Juice had to kill him first. The blood sprayed across his face. Miles was dead, and Juice was alive, and when he awoke, all those facts were still true.  
When Jax had uttered those words in his ear that day outside the ice cream shop, Juice knew he was headed for a meeting with Mr Mayhem. But like the tree branch breaking before he could rightfully give the life he had to the reaper, Juice had evaded death once again, and was sitting on a bed, in Mexico, his wife asleep on the couch.  
Or so he thought.  
“Shit, Kara! What the hell?”  
Kara was lying next to him on the bed, wide awake, watching him.  
“Couch wasn’t comfy.”  
“Jesus.” Juice muttered.  
“Nope, just me.” Kara sat up next to him, trying to look him in the eye, but Juice was avoiding it.  
“You were mumbling in your sleep. Nightmare?”  
“Yeah. I’m fine. Go back to sleep, we have work tomorrow.”  
Kara lay back down, rolling over, settling down to sleep.  
Juice couldn’t be bothered to argue, instead laying down next to her, careful not to get too close, and falling back to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

JUICE

The shining sun, along with something tickling his nose, woke Juice later that morning. Opening his eyes slowly, he was met with blond hair. There was pressure on his arm, and shifting up, Juice could see that he had rolled over at some point in the night, curling up, his arm under Kara’s neck.  
Pulling his arm out quickly, Kara let out a yelp, waking abruptly. Juice leapt off the bed, registering the situation before grabbing his work clothes and taking a shower.  
The idea of sleeping in the bed of the truck wasn’t so unappealing to him anymore. He pondered going out and buying a mattress after work, but that thought was interrupted by the sound of Kara yelling.  
Barrelling out of the shower with his towel wrapped around himself, Juice practically threw himself out of the door to find Kara arguing with a chicken  
“Don’t fight me, Lucille, give me those eggs!”  
“Kara, what are you doing?”  
“Well, these chickens have decided to squat under our home, so if they’re not gonna pay rent, they can pay in breakfast.” Kara replied, not taking her eyes off the chicken as she tried to reach for the eggs.  
Juice shook his head. Of course, she was arguing with chickens. And one of them was named Lucille?  
“You named them?” Juice asked.  
“Uh-huh.” Kara’s voice was strained, crouched down next to the van with her back turned to him. She was using a bit of driftwood she had found to keep Lucille at bay and was searching about trying to get the eggs.   
“Lucy and Ethel. Now, go finish your shower so I can have mine. Can’t be late on the first day!”  
Juice sighed and went back in, showering and getting dressed in the bright blue polo shirt and cargo shorts that Manuel had given him the day before. He had never felt so preppy in his life, until he slid on his white sand shoes.  
It could have been worse, he could have had to strip.  
Something caught his eye that he had been avoiding for weeks. His reaper tattoo.  
Juice’s main focus since leaving the club was trying to get to Mexico. He’d been wearing long sleeves for so long, and his mind had been so far elsewhere that showering was just a habit rather than a thought-about process. He’d hardly noticed it, but now it was out in the open.  
He knew he would have to get it covered, but he needed the money first. Grabbing a bandage from the small first aid kit he’d put together, he wrapped it around his arm.  
Kara was cracking eggs into a pan when Juice came out to the kitchen.  
“Here, scramble these and watch the toast while I have a shower.” Kara said, shoving a spatula at Juice.  
They sat down to eat, neither one mentioning the cuddling incident.  
“What’s with the bandage? You get hurt?” Kara asked, eating her breakfast.  
Juice ignored her, pretending he didn’t hear, getting up making them coffee before they headed out.  
Juice’s first day at work went without a hitch. He handed out and collected snorkelling and surfing equipment, helping the customers with the utmost kindness and care, even when the customers were less than kind to him.  
The hectic nature of the job meant that he didn’t have a whole lot of time to think about any pending danger until he got home.  
When he was back at the trailer, he made a habit of checking out the kitchen window, looking for anything suspicious. Since he didn’t have a weapon any better than the box cutter he’d kept, he wanted to get the jump on anyone sneaking up on them.   
He knew Kara has sensed his shift in moods. Juice had started being harsh towards her again, and he was borderline paranoid when they were at home or in town. His attitude was so different to that of when they were on the move.  
Going to bed was a routine of it’s own. Juice would lock everything, checking all entry points to make sure they were sealed before going to bed.   
Kara had gotten up in the night once to get a drink. Juice had woken to her opening the door, and had she not had the lights on, he would have followed through on tackling her to the ground, thinking she was an intruder.  
“I’m pretty sure an intruder isn’t going to stop for a drink break before killing us.” Kara commented.  
“Sorry.” Juice mumbled, going back to bed, so frustrated by the tense feeling he was constantly plagued with.  
On top of the worry that someone was going to find and attack them, Juice was worried that he was going to accidentally hurt Kara. He’d started putting a glass of water on the table next to the couch each night, taking one for himself so it wouldn’t look like he was up to anything.   
Cooking dinner the night after their shift, Juice listened while Kara told him all about her day.  
“I got to assist in teaching a few surf classes and a snorkelling session. It was pretty easy, I knew what I was doing, Marco didn’t have to give me many pointers.”  
Marco was another of the instructors that had been sent out with Kara for the first few days to see how well she taught.  
“Marco thinks that if I keep up how I’m going, Manuel will let me lead my own classes.”  
Juice set down their food on the table, sitting down across from her, letting her continue.  
While Kara talked about how great the beach and surf was, and how much she’d missed it, Juice noticed her scratching her side where the wound was. “I’ll take a look at that after dinner.” Juice gestured towards her wound with his fork.  
“It’s so damn itchy, I think the salt water got into it.”  
“Good. Means it’s healing. And the water will do it good.”  
They finished their dinner and Kara lay on the bed with her top pulled up over the wound.   
“These look good to come out.” Juice said, reaching for a pair of small snips. Taking his time, he cut the stitches, pulling them out one by one.  
He covered it again, for good measure. Helping her sit up Juice’s fingertips brushed along her side and he felt her take a sharp breath.  
“Thank you.” Kara sat up, bringing her shirt back down again.  
“Anytime.” He murmured, looking into her eyes before clearing his throat and cleaning up the old bandages.


	11. Chapter 11

JUICE

The pair had managed to impress Manuel and he took them on full time. Most days they were put on the same shifts, but some days one was off while the other worked.  
When Juice had to work while Kara had a day off, his anxiety skyrocketed. He hadn’t had the time or money to buy them phones yet, so on his lunch break he would run home and check on her.  
Kara promised to stay at the trailer or go down to the beach, and while Juice had a feeling it was because Kara knew he was uneasy about not being there to protect her, he appreciated her complying all the same.  
Manzanillo had been their home for nearly a month, and so far, nothing had happened. They worked, ate, slept; shopping in town when they needed to, always knowing where each other was. It was a good routine and it worked. Until it didn’t.  
Juice ran along the beach, keeping an eye out for Kara. She wasn’t there, so he figured she’d changed her mind about going that day, or she’d already headed home.  
He ran from the beach up to the trailer park, knocking the sand out of his shoes on the side of the airstream. Lucy and Ethel clucked and pecked around at his feet, and he stepped over them cautiously before heading through the door.  
It was silent. Kara wasn’t there. Sometimes Kara would go and surf near work on her days off too. She’d leave a note on the fridge to say she would be there in case they didn’t cross paths.  
Juice checked the fridge, but there was nothing there. Panic started to bubble inside of him.  
Maybe she just forgot to leave a note. Juice thought to himself, trying not to freak out.  
The place wasn’t trashed and no one was around telling him that there had been a disturbance.  
Trying to calm himself, he made a sandwich, figuring it was better to eat, but the worry outweighed his hunger and he found himself spending his lunch break running up and down the beach and then back to work.  
“Hey, Kara been by today?” Juice asked around the other instructors and desk workers.  
None of them had seen her, so he went by Manuel’s office. “Manuel, you seen Kara?”  
“Nope, hasn’t been in that I know of, why?”  
Juice fiddled with his hands, wondering where she could have gone to.  
“She just wasn’t home when I went back for lunch. No one’s seen her here, either.”  
Where would she have gone? Surely no where too far. Was the truck at home? Had he seen it or just not realised it wasn’t there?  
The thoughts looped around his mind while Manuel watched him.  
“She’s probably just gone exploring, gone for a walk. Relax, man, I’m sure she’s fine.” Manuel said.  
“Yeah, yeah, probably. I gotta get back to work.”  
Juice left the office and took his place behind the desk. Whenever he wasn’t busy with a customer, he would be craning his neck, trying to see if he could spot her on the pier.  
By the time his shift was over, Juice was a wreck. He clocked out and ran full speed home. Relief washed over him when he saw Kara, standing on a chair and hanging string lights on the side of the trailer. That feeling of relief was quickly taken over by anger.  
“KARA! WHAT THE FUCK?!!”  
Kara turned, nearly falling from the chair from the shock of Juice’s rage.  
“What??”  
“You took off and didn’t say anything! I thought someone had taken you or something!”  
Kara’s mouth formed a hard line, bringing her arms down, still clutching the lights.  
“Well you did a great job of finding me. I was bored. I went for a walk up to the main street to have a look at the stores, thought I might be able to pick up something to read.”  
“So you went and brought Christmas lights?? That money is meant for rent and food and the million or so other things we need! Not redecorating our new pad! What if-” Juice stopped himself from saying names, knowing people could probably hear the commotion he’d started.  
He stepped closer, lowering his voice.  
“What if someone had found you? We are supposed to keep a low profile.”  
Kara lowered her voice too, the expression on her face softening.  
“Aw, Diego, I didn’t know you cared about me that much! Seriously, though, chill out. I was only a few minutes away, I was careful. And this stuff was cheap. I figured, if I have to stay in this little trailer, I can at least decorate it a little so it looks happy and I don’t have to stare at your grumpy ass all day.”  
Juice was so irate, he couldn’t believe she was being so nonchalant about it. They were safer than in California, but they weren’t safe.  
“Anything could happen, just because it hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean that it won’t! You need to understand how important this is and stop being such a spoilt little brat!” Juice raised his voice again, not caring this time who heard.  
“Oh yeah?!” Kara yelled, stepping down for the chair and over to him.  
“Yeah!” He yelled back, his fists balled at his sides.  
Standing on her tiptoes, she prodded her index finger into his chest, getting in his face.  
“And what if I don’t?” She challenged, her voice low.  
Juice gritted his teeth, looking down at her square in the eye. He hadn’t really noticed, before but with the afternoon sun shining Juice realized that Kara had green eyes. He had assumed they were brown, never really taking the time to look at them properly. In this light though the dark green shine through brighter.  
His eyes travelled slowly down her face, over her nose, glancing at her flushed cheeks. He brought his gaze to her full lips, which she ran her tongue over in anticipation of his answer.  
They were so soft and inviting, and without knowing what he was doing, he leaned in a little further, feeling her warm breath on his skin. It made him insane.  
The fact that it was at that moment he was using the time he wanted to be angry at her to notice all the attractive qualities of her face annoyed him even more.  
He sneered, growling sharply at her before walking off in the direction of the beach. Juice heard Kara let out a frustrated groan as he strode away.  
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he headed along the beach walking next to the water.  
“Damn princess, acting like a spoiled brat, gonna get us killed, acting like a damn child.” Juice muttered to himself as he walked on.  
He’d nearly reached the pier by the time he’d calmed down. Juice ran his hands over his head, wondering what he had to do for her to get it.  
Crossing the border didn’t keep them from outlaws. But they’d gone a month without so much as a scare. Juice knew that meant nothing, but it was a good sign, surely.  
She’d made some dumb mistakes, but that didn’t mean she deserved to be locked up. She deserved to live, just like… Just like he did.  
Juice turned and headed back home.  
Kara had continued in her task of hanging up the lights, muttering to the chickens about how stupid Juice was.  
She hadn’t heard him come back, and he leant on the end of the trailer, watching her a little.  
“So, you been staring at my ass, Princess?”  
Kara jumped a little, looking over at Juice.  
“Just the grumpy one on your face.”  
Juice huffed out a laugh. “Very funny, wifey.”  
He pushed up from the trailer and walked over to her as she hung the last of the lights.   
“Look, I’m sorry. I freaked out. Just… Please tell me if you’re gonna go exploring? So I know where you are in case something does happen?”  
Kara rolled her eyes and smiled.  
“Yes, Sir.”  
Juice smiled back, offering her his hand to get down.  
“Wanna come inside for dinner?”  
“Sure thing.” Juice replied, following her inside.


	12. Chapter 12

JUICE

_“Relax.”_  
_She was so pretty. Her skin was so soft. He didn't want to do this, but Jax had said he had to._  
_Juice tied off the band and rubbed gently over her vein. He caught a glimpse of her big brown eyes looking up at him. Trusting him to make it better, to make her hurt go away. If only for a moment._  
_She was so pretty._  
_Carefully, he slid the needle into her arm, and ever so slowly pushed the plunger down._  
_Her skin was so soft._  
_Watching those beautiful, trusting eyes gloss over and roll back. He took a deep breath, preparing himself. Carefully he grabbed the cushion and set it aside. Then the pillow._  
_He didn't want to do this._  
_He held it tight over her face. Such a waste, to do this to someone so fragile, so pretty. The thrashing was minimal, and Juice wondered if she had enough will in her to fight. What little she had was leaving her._  
_Every move he had made thus far felt controlled. He didn't want this._  
_Life slowed, draining from her. Then nothing. Her last breath had been snuffed out, and Juice could move on his own again._  
_Jax had said he had to._  
_Pulling back the pillow he was met with lifeless, dark green eyes looking up at him._  
_“Kara? No, no. Please. No, Kara, wake up.” He begged her lifeless body._  
_Shaking her and pulling her cold, still form into his arms. His tears dripping from his eyes to her graying face._  
_“I'm so sorry, Kara. Please, please, just wake up.” He sobbed holding her tight and close. “Please…”_  
_“You betrayed me, brother,” came the cold voice above him._  
_Looking up, Juice was met with the icy glare of Jax Teller. “Now you get to live with the consequences.”_

“KARA!” Juice screamed out, sitting upright, still in limbo between dreaming and waking.  
“I didn’t, I didn’t want to!”  
“Juice?”  
He heard her voice, but it wasn’t enough.  
“I killed her. Oh God, I killed Kara. I didn't want to. Jax said I had to.” Juice ranted, head hung low and his hands gripping the back of his neck.  
“Juice, look at me, it’s Kara, I’m fine.”  
The mattress shifted under her weight as she sat in front of him, holding his face. She tried to pull it up to meet hers but he resisted.  
“I gotta... Oh God. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry. I didn’t keep her safe.”  
Juice had lifted his head, but he still wasn’t looking at her. He was searching for something on the bed that he couldn’t find, that didn’t exist.  
“It’s Amy!” She blurted out causing him to finally look at her.  
“My name is Amy.” Kara said.  
Juice felt her take his hands in her own, settling, the unfamiliar information bringing him around slowly.  
“What?”  
“Amy Lambert. Well, I was. But whether I’m Amy, or Kara, I’m here. You’ve kept me safe.”  
Juice was shaking, holding Kara’s hands so tight that he was worried he was going to hurt her. He needed to hold on to something, this dream had rocked him harder than any that he’d had of killing Miles.  
“I have nightmares too, ya know.” Kara said, breaking the silence.  
“I don’t wake up screaming, I wake up paralyzed. I can’t breathe, I can’t move, all I use to be able to do was wait until it passes. But now,” Kara let go of one of his hands and cupped his cheek.  
“When I wake up, you’re there, and I know that I’m safe. Even though you’re a grump and tell me what to do all the time, I know you’re trying to take care of me. Keep me safe. So, ya know, thanks for that.”  
A small smile escaped Juice, as he slowly came back around to reality.  
“What do you dream about?”  
Kara sat for a minute.  
“The night I was stabbed. After I saw what they did to that guy and his wife, I ran. Couldn’t get far, but I knew I had to get out. I tried for the front door, I hadn’t close it when I came in, but my ex grabbed me, dragging me back inside. He threw me against the wall and I ran, through the kitchen and toward the hall, but his brother tackled me. I kicked him in the head and ran for my room. My ex was coming for me again, slowly walking up the hall, calling out to me. ‘Amy, Amy…’” Kara cringed, shrinking back a little before shaking it off.  
“I opened the window and tried to get out but the sound of him calling my name… It froze me. I don't even think I like my real name anymore. I don't think I could stand to hear it without thinking about...”  
She stopped, not needing to finish for him to understand. The impression Kara had done of her ex calling her, taunting her, caused a shiver to rise up Juice’s spine. He felt rage boil and he wanted to kill the both her ex and his brother, although they were probably both dead if Alvarez had done his job, which Juice had no doubts about.  
He was brought out from his thoughts when Kara began to talk again.  
“By the time he’d grabbed me, the panic had finally worn off, but I was too late. He’d yanked me back in the window by my ankle and dragged me back to the living room.  
“Even in the middle of all that, I felt a small spark of pride at the mess I’d made of his brother’s nose when I’d kicked him. Blood was pouring out and I’d definitely broken it. I knew I was a goner, though, by the look in his eyes.”  
Kara shifted, crossing her legs underneath her.  
“He stabbed me, and even though it didn’t go through very far, I think with the shock of everything... I passed out. You know the rest.”  
They both sat, thinking over their nightmares, their realities.  
“And now I have no friends, no family, no home. I’m on the run and I’m so damn scared, I-” Kara tried to finish what she was saying, but the sobbing took over.  
Before Juice could stop himself, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and letting her cry. She’d stayed strong for so long, kept it all wrapped up in sass and wit. Now she’d been vulnerable with him twice, and he wasn’t going to let her be alone in it.  
“I’ve got you.” Juice said.  
“It’s ok. Sshh, I've got you. You're not alone.”  
Kara cried until she was empty, and Juice held her the whole time. She made to get off the bed, sniffling.  
“Umm… I should go…”  
“Stay.” He said gently taking hold of her wrist and guiding her back to bed.  
“You sure?” Kara croaked out, her voice still thick with emotion.  
“Yeah. I think we both could use the company tonight.” He replied, letting go of her wrist.  
Kara nodded, pulling the blankets back and snuggling down underneath them.  
Juice was caught off guard when she rolled in to him, cuddled up to his chest.  
“Friends?” She asked, her voice muffled.  
Juice chuckled quietly, nodding. “Friends.”


	13. Chapter 13

JUICE

Juice ran out the next morning to town before Kara was due to leave for work. After the fiasco that was the day before, he wanted phones so they had a way to contact each other, and so that he could calm down and relax a bit on her. He was trying to be more trusting, and less worried, and he knew having the phones would help.  
Arriving back at the trailer, he walked in as Kara was stepping out of the bathroom, in nothing but a towel.  
“Oh, shit, sorry.” Juice said, turning around.  
“I went and got us phones. You can take one with you and keep it at work. I’ll have mine on me. I have to go back out and get some clothes.” Juice explained.  
“You can look, I’m covered.” Kara replied.  
Juice faced Kara again, this time his eyes bulging and his jaw dropping. Standing before him was Kara in a string thong bikini.  
“Jesus, Kara! You call that covered? I've seen Crow-eater‘s with more clothes on, and that’s saying something.”  
“Crow what?”  
Kara just brushed him off when he went to explain.  
“Whatever. It’s a swimsuit! All the important bits are covered. It’s for under my wetsuit, it’s comfier this way.” She said, walking back into the bedroom to put on her wetsuit.  
Juice watched her as she went, finding it hard to look away from her backside completely exposed to him. He thought to himself how much easier it was having unlimited access to the slightly more modest crows.  
“Ugh, I gotta get laid.” Juice muttered to himself,  
“What’d you say?” Kara called, pulling on the suit.  
“Hmm? Nothing. This is yours, my number’s already in it.” He replied, handing over the phone.  
“Thanks! Drive me to work before you go shopping?” Kara asked.  
“Yeah, let’s go.”

The heat was starting to get to Juice. He was used to the drier temperatures of California, but summer in Manzanillo boasted 100% humidity. His work clothes were fine, but anything that Juice had picked up on the way down there was hardly appropriate. It was getting too hot to wear long sleeves, and now that he was covering his tattoo, he didn’t need his hoodies.  
Going through the racks of clothing, Juice traded cargo pants for cargo shorts, long sleeves for t-shirts and tank tops, and boots for flip flops.  
Leaving the store, he began walking back to the truck. Juice stopped when he put the key in the lock, seeing his reflection in the window. His hair had gotten long, longer than he’d had it in a long time. He missed his mohawk, but his tribal tattoos were too recognisable.  
There was a pawn shop a few stores down, and Juice put his clothes in the truck and made his way over.  
While there, he found a set of clippers that looked in good shape, and he took them to the register where a man served him. As the guy rang up the total, Juice looked down at the display cabinet under the register. There were a lot of rings, especially wedding bands. An idea struck Juice as he crouched down to have a proper look.  
When Juice had dropped Kara off that morning, a frat boy from Alpha Beta Dickhead had walked up to her and began chatting her up when she’d gotten out of the truck. Juice had watched on.  
“Looking forward to my next lesson.” He said, standing rather close to Kara.  
“You nearly had it, probably won’t need me to teach you much longer!” Kara was polite, smiling at the guy.  
“Yeah, well, I learned from the best.” The guy grazed her arm with his fingers and walked away with a smug grin on his face.  
Juice thought he was going to gag from what he was hearing. He scoffed, shaking his head slightly.  
“See you when I finish?” Kara said, turning and looking at Juice through the open truck window.  
“I’ll be here.”  
Juice drove off into town, thinking about how many morons like that guy had tried something with her.  
They weren’t in a relationship, but he did feel odd when the guy had flirted with her. He’d had the same feeling when he saw some of his co-workers checking her out.  
Looking at the rings, he spotted a thin, silver band with three sets of three diamonds set into the metal, tiny detailed engraving around the diamonds. It was perfect. At least, it was perfect for their situation. Knowing how she was, she’d probably be more likely to wear it if it was pretty and sparkly.  
Juice spotted a plain silver band. He pointed them out to the sales clerk, and paid for everything, pocketing the rings. Getting back to the car, he put them in the coin tray until he saw her that afternoon.  
Sitting in the truck, he turned it on. Looking at the rings in the tray, he suddenly felt stupid.  
“What the fuck am I thinking?” He said aloud.  
She wasn’t his. Technically, on paper, she was his wife. But she wasn’t, not really. All he had to do was keep her safe until they worked things out. She’d already been with one killer, she didn't need another.  
He didn’t want anything but the best for her, and once they’d sorted all the fake marriage out, he hoped she’d go on and find someone that was good to her, would give her the family she wanted. But for now, he was her husband, and he was protecting her.  
He nearly took the rings back to the shop, but thought better of it. He’d keep them in case they were necessary. Otherwise, he’d just hide them away until he could sell them.  
On that thought, he backed the truck out and drove home.

Juice pottered around the place, tidying up, packing away his new things. There was sometime before Kara needed to be picked up, so he tried busying himself until then. He considered going for a walk when his phone started to ring.  
Springing on it, he answered. “Kara?? Are you okay?”  
“Calm down, Diego, I’m fine. I was just calling because my last surf lesson got cancelled, thought you might wanna come down and give it a go yourself?” Juice breathed a sigh of relief.  
“Oh, uh... Nah it’s cool, I can come pick you up though.”  
“You need to loosen up, have some fun.” Kara said, before lowering her voice.  
“We’re not going to be killed having fun every now and again, Juice.”  
Juice considered it, but denied her again.  
“Oh, come on, come surfing! I promise I won’t tease you if you suck.”  
“How do you know that I’m not great at it!”  
“You’re working at the desk. If you could surf, you would have asked for the instructor position.”  
Juice rolled his eyes. “You know, what? You’re a bully.”  
“You’re not exactly the sweetest cupcake in the batch, either.”  
Juice could hear the smile in her voice.  
This was his new life. If he didn’t want to enjoy living, he could have stayed in California and hidden. He wanted to give himself permission to have fun and stop punishing himself.  
“Fine. I’ll get changed and come down.”  
“Yes!!” She’d hung up before he could take it back.  
Throwing the phone down on the bed, he changed into one of his new shirts, boardshorts and flip flops. If nothing else, he’d give her a good show and fall off the board.

KARA

Juice had started off semi-confident. He had a natural balance, having good core strength and riding bikes, Kara could see. But riding a motorcycle was not the same as standing on a board in moving water.  
He was a lot better than most of the other people she taught, even those that had previous lessons.  
_He might not be be the perfect husband or surfer, but that body is at peak performance,_ Kara thought to herself when Juice had first turned up.  
She could tell he was nervous, he was looking around to see if anyone was watching.  
“Come on, Street Rat, let’s do this. Do you want a kiddie board to start you off?”  
“Real funny. You know, you really are a bully.” Juice said, grabbing his shirt at the back of the neck and pulling it up and over his head.  
Kara dropped her board, nearly hitting someone walking by with it.  
She knew that his body was fit, she’d seen him come out of the bathroom with just a towel around him the first morning while she was cooking breakfast and made a vow to herself to never look at him shirtless again, for his benefit more than hers.  
They didn’t see much of each other at work, either, so when she saw his bare arms and legs, and now his tone and defined chest and stomach were on display, it was hard not to pay attention. As hard as she may or may not have been trying.  
On the other hand, he was her husband.  
Some days, her thoughts wandered. When she allowed it, she would think about whether it would be wrong for them to know each other, biblically, so to speak, but knew that could only end in disaster.  
Kara wouldn’t deny it. Juice was hot. But he was also overprotective and a stress-head and liked things done in a certain way and he drove her mad.  
Raising an apologetic hand to the woman she almost took out with her board, she began the lesson.  
She managed to keep it professional until he got in the water.  
“How the hell are you so good at this?!” Kara exclaimed, completely in shock.  
Juice had come off the surfboard a few times, but caught on to the technique quickly, navigating the calm surf.  
“Princess, I’m amazing at everything I do.” Juice replied, paddling the board back over to her.  
“I bet you are.” Kara mumbled, watching Juice sit up on the board, the water dripping all over his muscular body.  
“You say something?” Juice asked, cupping water in his hands and splashing it over his face, wiping it away.  
“What? No. You must have water in your ears. Let’s go get food, I’m starving.” Kara turned the board around and paddled to shore, Juice following close behind.  
They’d been out for two hours and they’d both grown hungry. Packing away their boards, they walked to the truck, Kara unzipping her wetsuit and rolling it down to her hips.  
Kara was a glutton for punishment, stealing a look as Juice dried off.  
“Ice cream?” He asked.  
Kara nodded and Juice drove them up to the main street.  
As Kara went to buy them ice creams, she looked over at Juice sitting on a bench. While he kicked back, a rumble caught both of their attentions. Looking up, a man on Yamaha V Star rode past.  
Juice’s gaze followed him, and Kara saw Juice swallowing hard, his jaw clenching.  
She knew he missed it, riding with his brothers, back when… Kara stopped herself. Thinking about his past caused her to think about her own, and it wasn’t anything she wanted to dwell on.  
Carrying their treats over, he hadn’t noticed Kara standing next to him at first, but when he did, he saw the quizzical look on her face.  
“You alright?” She asked.  
“Yeah, I’m good.” Juice said, not exactly convincing.  
“Here, eat this, you can’t be upset after eating ice cream.” Kara handed the ice cream cone over to Juice.  
It was gigantic, and Kara’s was even bigger.  
“I didn’t know what flavour you wanted, so I got you chocolate.”  
“Chocolate is fine.” Juice tucked in, but was quickly distracted.  
_Ice cream? What the fuck was I thinking?_ Kara asked herself as she watched him lick the dessert, completely oblivious to Kara, looking up and down main street.  
It wasn’t like Juice was doing anything remotely sexy in the way he was eating the ice cream. The sun was so hot that it caused it to melt and drip all over himself. She had just been deprived for so long, and the way he chuckled and smiled while trying to stop the ice cream from running down his arm was just doing things.  
“Kara, get me a napkin.”  
“Huh?” Kara snapped out of it.  
“Napkin, it’s going everywhere!” He laughed.  
“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Kara got up and went to the ice cream vendor, grabbing napkins and bringing it back over.  
Sitting back down next to him, he cleaned up.  
A horn honked and she looked up to see Manny pulling over in his truck, waving at them.  
They waved back and went over to him.  
“Hey you two, what’s happening?”  
“Just took Diego out for his first surf lesson.” Kara said.  
“Oh yeah? How’d it go?” Manuel asked.  
“Eh, he’s average.” Kara shrugged, much to Juice’s protest.  
Manuel chuckled. “Are you two busy tonight? I wanted to ask if you would come over for dinner.”  
“Aw, Manuel, that’s so sweet!” Kara said.  
“We’ll be there.” Juice replied.  
Manuel gave them directions to his house and told them to come at seven.  
“Better go get cleaned up.” Juice said.


	14. Chapter 14

JUICE

“Do you think we’re getting fired, but he doesn’t wanna do it up front? You know, invite us over for dinner to soften the blow?” Kara asked Juice as they sat in the car out the front of Manuel’s house.  
“No, but I do think he’s gonna think we’re weird if we don’t go in there already.” Juice replied.  
They’d gotten there early and had been sitting in the car for a few minutes. Juice had seen a face appear in a window of Manuel’s house a few times, someone was checking to see if they were coming in.  
He had to admit, he was a little nervous.   
Juice and Manuel had talked briefly on times when the Surf and Snorkel had quiet moments. Manuel had asked on a few separate occasions one why Juice kept his foreman covered. Juice had made excuses, not telling him about the tattoo to avoid future questions.   
Juice had an inkling that Manuel maybe had plans at dinner to ask more in depth questions, and Juice wasn’t sure Manuel would be so friendly towards him should he ask anything that preceded him coming to Manzanillo.  
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s not rude to be this early is it? Because it’s your fault, you rushed me.”  
“I don’t know the area well, I thought we’d better leave early in case we got lost so we wouldn’t be late.”  
“Yeah, well, now we’re half an hour early. Might as well have just come straight over after surfing and pitched a tent in his front yard.” Kara said, getting out and rounding the truck.  
“Well if we had come straight after surfing, I would have been all sticky and gross, and I would have wiped it on you and attracted bugs into the tent. So, yeah, we would have been on time, but you would have been eaten by ants. Not such a bad idea, really.” Juice snarked back, walking down the footpath to the front door.   
Kara stuck out her tongue and rang the doorbell.  
“Hey, you made it!” Manuel said, welcoming them into his home.  
“Yeah, we would have been four hours early, but Juice needed a shower.” Kara said.  
Juice raised an eyebrow, shooting her an unimpressed look.  
“I thought it would be better to leave a little early in case we got lost.” Juice explained.  
Manuel laughed, gesturing for them to come through to the living room.  
The main areas of the house were open plan, the kitchen and dining room exposed to the living room.  
Two women, one Manuel’s age, one older, were cooking in the kitchen, and came out to greet their guests.   
“This is my wife, Carmen, and this is her mother, Gloria.”  
“Abuela.” Gloria offered.  
“Abuela understands English, but doesn’t speak it much.” Manny explained.  
“Nice to meet you both. Manny talks about you a lot.” Carmen smiled at them.  
Juice and Kara shook Carmen’s hand, but Abuela was more hands on. Literally.  
Abuela pulled Juice in for a hug, hands on his cheeks, kissing them both. Juice was shocked by the affection, but managed a smile.  
Kara was hugged next, but she hugged right back.  
“Soy Kara y este es Jugo.” Kara said to Abuela.  
“Ah! Hablas bien español!” Abuela said, beaming at Kara.  
“Drink?” Manuel asked them.  
“Please.” Juice said, but before he could answer, Manuel had walked off.   
“I think you might be in with Abuela, senorita.” Juice joked to Kara.  
“You might be too, if you don’t try to speak Spanish, senor.” Kara joked back.  
“Beer for you, Diego. Kara, a mojito for you, unless you’d prefer beer?” Manuel asked, serving their drinks.  
“No, mojito is great, thanks Manuel.”  
“‘Manny’, please.” Manuel asked them to sit, so they took a place next to each other on the couch. The brightly painted walls in the living room were a vivid coral, holding many photos, old and new. Juice’s attention was caught by a photo of a young Manny and Carmen, taken down on the beach.  
“So, do you often have your employees around for dinner?” Juice heard Kara asking.  
“Kara!” Juice rasped.  
“She’s fine, Diego.” Manny said, turning from Juice to Kara.  
“I wanted to give you guys time to settle in. It can be hard being new in town, not knowing anyone. It’s good to have friends.”  
Juice smiled at him. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be as invasive as he thought.   
“Dinner’s ready!” Carmen called, and they made their way to the dining table.  
The dining experience was pleasant. Kara was great at deflecting questions about them to questions about their hosts. Juice hadn’t thought she was as nervous as he was, she was handling it as though she’d been rehearsing it.   
She spoke about her holidays with her family in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica, keeping the conversation simple.   
Manny told them about his love of old cars, and how he spent his time restoring them.  
The idea of working on cars with Manny was something he’d hoped they’d share someday. He squashed that idea quickly, not wanting to get his hopes up over something that might not even last the year.  
After dinner, they sat around the table, everyone wildly chatting, and Juice felt the tug of longing for the second time that day. He was reminded of the family dinners he’d attended at Gemma’s place, where club business came second and spending quality, good times with your family around a big table loaded with food was the only thing you had to worry about.  
He didn’t know if this would be ongoing, whether it would be a one time thing or Manny and his family had really wanted to become their friends, but he was glad he had something like this back in his life, even if it was just for tonight.   
That day had been the happiest he’d had in a long time, and while he knew it could all go away in an instant, he also knew Kara was right in saying that he needed to enjoy it.  
As if he had read Juice’s mind, Manny got up from the table, turning the volume up on the record player. He span around before pointing at Carmen, beckoning her over. Laughing, she walked over and they began to dance, giggling and spinning.  
Juice could see how totally in love they were. Kara had asked how long they’d been together, and Manny proudly told them it had been 21 years. It was good to see such strong love.  
Juice didn’t know if it was because he’d drunk too much cerveza but he got up, walking straight by Kara and held his hand out to Gloria.  
Abuela wasted no time, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the living room.  
Juice’s posture was straight, arms locked, and he led her in a tango, sticking to the basic steps. Light on his feet, he turned her, moving to the beat, keeping time.  
He looked up at one point to see Kara both chuckling and looking impressed, eyebrows raised watching him.   
Juice gave her a “take that” look, a wide grin spread across his smug face.  
After one dance, Gloria needed to sit, but stopped Juice from sitting down.   
“Jugo, with Kara.”  
Pausing mid-sit, Juice looked to Kara.  
She extended her hand to him and he took it, getting them positioned before stepping forward. He bumped into Kara, who hadn’t moved. They started again, and this time, Kara tried to lead, bumping into Juice’s chest.  
“Oh my God, you’re terrible at this.” Juice laughed, taking the steps slower.  
“Yeah, well, I’m still her favourite.” Kara replied, watching his feet and trying to follow.  
“You might be able to speak Spanish, but the tango is the language of love, and I just spoke it.”  
“She grabbed your butt, didn’t she?”  
“Yep.” Juice said, his face tinging pink.  
Kara chuckled, and Juice dipped her dramatically.  
She threw her head back laughing, and Juice nearly dropped her, the sound shocking him, it was so joyful and light.  
Pulling her up, they resumed their dance, Juice feeling the slight awkwardness subsiding as they moved to the rhythm.

“Come sit outside with me, Diego.” Manny said to Juice.   
Kara was in the living room with Gloria and Carmen, and Juice had started to clear off the table.  
“But, uh,” He held the plates up to Manny, who shook his head.  
“Later, please.”  
Juice set the plates down on the countertop and followed Manny out to the back courtyard. He accepted a beer from Manny and they sat on the patio furniture, the night warm.  
“‘Jugo’. That’s an interesting name.” Manny commented.  
“Is it? I don’t even know what that means. She just started that today.”  
“It means Juice.” Manny informed him, chuckling at his lack of Spanish speaking abilities.  
“Oh, uh, it’s a nickname.” A soft smile gracing his lips.   
Kara finding a way to use his name making her all the more endearing to him.  
Manny nodded. “And that bandage you keep wearing? Another graze?”  
Here it was. Juice had been worried for good reason. He swallowed hard, his hand automatically holding the wrapped area.   
“I’m not judging you, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I was being serious when I said I want us to be friends. But I’m worried about you. You are so serious, always looking over your shoulder.” Manny reached over and placed a hand on Juice’s shoulder, as if to emphasise his point.  
“Are you alright?”  
Juice’s breath shuddered as he exhaled, he closed his eyes for a moment. There was something about the man that he trusted. Juice wanted to tell him everything, but everything was too much for now. Instead, he began to unwrap the bandage, unwinding it from his arm.  
The reaper stared up at him, and Juice extended his arm out.  
Manny looked over it, nodding.   
“I left behind a bad life, Manny. I didn’t want it anymore. I want that part of me to disappear.”  
“I know, son. I know. Can’t keep wearing a bandage forever, though.”  
“I can’t not keep it covered. Everything I was, I’m trying to erase. I came to Mexico to start fresh, but I’m terrified someone will see. Someone will notice. I don’t wanna run anymore.”  
“You need to get this covered.”  
Juice looked at Manny. The older man wasn’t angry. He wasn’t disappointed. His face held a kindness that Juice hadn’t witnessed from anyone, not even his brothers, in many years.  
“Will I lose my job? That’s a... That’s a lot of ink.”  
Manny chuckled. “No, son, you won’t lose your job.”   
Fiddling with the buttons on the cuff of his shirt, Manny rolled up his sleeves, showing Juice many tattoos of his own.   
“I can put you in touch with my friend, he is a tattoo artist. He’ll do anything you need, no questions.”  
“Thank you.” Juice said through tight lips. He fought back tears, keeping himself in check.  
The topic was dropped, and for the rest of the night, they sat, Manny doing most of the talking.


	15. Chapter 15

JUICE

It was the second time in as many days. Juice was sat in the truck, waiting for Kara to finish her shift. Her lesson had run a little overtime and Juice had already clocked out, so he waited for her. Looking up, seeing her approach, she wasn’t alone.  
One of the guys, Andrew, who Juice worked with, was walking with her, and although he couldn’t hear what he was saying, Juice could tell Andrew was flirting with her.  
While Kara was once again being polite, he could see she was a little uncomfortable.   
That cemented it, Juice knew what he had to do.  
Kara said a quick goodbye Andrew, who looked a little put out, and got into the truck.  
“You alright?” Juice asked, driving off.  
“Oh, yeah, he’s chatty, but harmless.” Kara said, brushing it off.  
Juice nodded, driving them home.   
Juice cooked while Kara showered, and when she started singing he knew she was washing her hair and would be a while. Setting the chicken he had sautéed to the side, Juice ran out to the truck digging in the coin tray pulling the items out, and putting them into his pocket.  
Kara spoke while they ate, but Juice was quieter than normal.   
“Is everything alright?” Kara asked.   
“You’re not one for rants, but I can barely get a word outta you tonight.”  
Juice paused, slipping his hand into his pocket, pulling out a closed fist.  
“Umm. Here.” Juice slid the ring over to Kara, who’s eyes widened.   
“I figured since we’re married and all, we should have rings. Don’t worry, I didn’t blow the budget. But it might help with those ‘friendly’ guys I see making you uncomfortable. You don’t gotta wear it if you don’t want to, I just- I just figured, ya know.”  
A small smile flickered across Kara’s face.   
“You ramble when you’re nervous.”   
“Yeah, well, I didn’t want you to think I was doing something weird.”  
“It’s beautiful. Thank you.”   
Juice smiled.   
“You gonna put it on me, or do I have to do it myself?”   
Juice chuckled, taking the ring from her. Kara held out her left and and Juice slid the ring on past her knuckle.   
“Perfect fit.” Kara smiled and Juice could've sworn he saw a tear as she sucked in a shaky breath. “What about you?”  
“I got one for me, too.” He showed her the silver band.   
Kara took his ring from him when he held it up.   
It wasn't anything too special but at the same time he felt that it really suited him.   
Taking his left hand in hers she slipped his ring onto his finger.   
She had touched him before but never, until this moment, with her holding his hand, brushing her thumb over his ring, had he realised how soft her hands were.   
“So, I guess it’s… I dunno, official? Like, for the time being?”   
Kara looked up to Juice and for a moment, and Juice saw that she was captivated. He had trapped her for a moment. One. Beautiful. Moment…  
Suddenly, she seemed to catch herself, pulling her hand back gently.  
“Nah, not until it’s on Facebook is it official.” Kara replied, her cheeky manner returning, and bringing them both back to reality.   
“Don’t you dare.” Juice warned jokingly, causing them both to release an awkward chuckle.   
“Oh, um, Manny mentioned today that they want us to come over again for lunch or dinner next week. I really like them, ya know?”   
“Yeah, yeah that’d be great.”  
“Awesome, I’ll let him know tomorrow.”

After dinner Kara ran out to the trailer park laundromat to put their washed clothes into the dryer.  
Juice had taken them over, but Kara had offered to check on them.  
Juice sat on the couch flipping through stations on their small television waiting for her to come back. Scratching at his neck, he felt the thick hair that had started to grow, remembering the clippers he had bought. He went to his bedside table, and pulled them out just as Kara came back through the door.  
Juice noticed she seemed off, like something was on her mind. She dumped the clothes still in their basket onto the bed, picking up her book and laying down.  
Juice could see she wasn’t really reading, just staring at the page, never turning it.  
He didn’t know if she’d be up for talking about whatever it was that she was thinking about, but he wanted to do something, not being able to stand the tension.  
“Hey, can you do something for me?”  
Kara looked up from her book. “What’s that?”  
“Shave my head?”   
Kara nodded.   
Juice sat on the dining table chair that they’d used as a makeshift ladder. He took off his shirt, tossing it on the table and adjusted the settings to a longer length.   
“You sure you want it this long?”  
Juice sighed. He'd rather no hair but their situation being what it was called for it to stay.  
”Yeah, the tattoos are too obvious. It's gotta be long enough to cover them up.”  
“Well that sucks. I liked them.” She replied.  
Kara had seen them on their first few days of travel before they began to disappear into the thick dark hair.  
“Really? You didn't think they were stupid?” knowing that was most people's reaction.  
“No, not really. I mean… I don't know they just kinda suited you.” She turned, plugging the clippers in.  
As Kara began, Juice breathed out as he felt the hair fall on his shoulders.   
Maybe one-day I'll be able to shave it again, Juice thought to himself.  
When she was done, Kara dusted off his shoulders and head, running her hands over the bristly hair.  
Juice closed his eyes, slumping into his chair, his head rested on her stomach.   
Kara kept stroking his head, scratching her nails through his hair and over his scalp.   
He let out an involuntary, soft groan, her touch so relaxing and soothing. Registering the noise, his eyes shot open, and Kara was looking down at him.   
For several moments, they looked at each other, not knowing what to do.  
“Um… does your back need doing? You’re butt?” Kara said, breaking the tension.  
“What is it with you and my butt, Princess. You’re obsessed.” Juice said, standing up to get a dustpan and broom.  
“Oh, here we go, Mr Ego.”  
“Now, don’t freak out, I’m just going to bend over and sweep the hair up off the floor. Control yourself.”  
Kara rolled her eyes and checked the time, the drying should be done and she wanted to get their laundry.  
What Juice didn’t know was that as she went to the door she snuck a glance at him, bent over, and it wasn’t a sight that she despised.

KARA

When she got to the laundromat, Kara found there was still a couple of minutes left on the dryer. She sat down with one of her novels to wait for it to finish, completely zoned in on the story. It was a particularly romantic one and she was at the best part. The handsome hero was confessing his love for the beautiful damsel.   
Kara sighed and caught sight of her ring. Running her finger over it she couldn't help the smile that spread over her face. She was definitely a romantic, loving the idea of the fairytale.   
Juice had been so adorably sweet, lately, and she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe they would be more than friends. Her thoughts were cut short by the jostling of the bench as someone sat next to her.  
“Hey. Kara right?”   
“Yeah! Andrew isn't it?” She smiled trying to be polite despite him sitting incredibly close.  
They’d spoken before, Andrew being very keen to talk while Kara was keen to keep her distance from him.  
“Yeah.” He seemed a bit put out that she hadn’t seemed to take much stock in their chats, but continued.  
“It’s been really nice having someone new to chat with. Doesn’t hurt that you stand out.” He eyed her up and down as he leaned in putting his arm around her.  
“Uhh, ‘stand out’?” She asked, standing up and putting some distance between them.   
“Of course! You're gorgeous.”   
Is he coming onto me?   
As she clenched her hand around her book, Kara’s ring caught her eye and the words left her without a thought.   
“Thank you. My husband thinks so, too.”  
Just then the dryer buzzer went off and Kara yanked open the door, quickly grabbing the basket, loading the clothes into it.  
“Ahh yeah. Diego. You know I don't get that. You're always so happy and smiling, and he’s… He's kind of angry. I've never even heard him speak.” Andrew chuckled trying to make the mood seem lighter.  
“Diego is just a private person.”  
“Yeah, and you are so open and nice. How do you two even make that work? I mean he never speaks, does he even smile? Can he make you smile?”  
Kara stood from the dryer to find Andrew standing right next to her.  
Taking a step back, she put the basket between them.  
“Actually he does. He's been though a lot and it's no one's business but ours. Now if you'll excuse me, my husband is waiting and will be worried if I'm too long. He cares about my well-being and I care about his enough to not give him a reason to be worried about me.” Kara huffed as she left.  
“Kara wait!” Andrew called after her.   
“I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just curious.” He shrugged trying to smooth things over.  
“It's alright. Like I said, we're private people.” She gave a half smile, not really wanting to snap at him.  
As though she’d just given him permission to start being inappropriate, he stepped towards her, running a finger over her ring.  
“Well, I’m all about privacy, keeping secrets.” He gave her a knowing smirk.  
Kara had a feeling there was an underlying message to his words, taking a hesitant step backwards.  
“See ya around, Kara.” Andrew said, leaving her with a smug grin.  
“Yeah, see ya.”   
Kara wasted no time in getting back home to Juice.


	16. Chapter 16

KARA

“KARA!!” Juice yelled.  
“What?” Kara replied, sticking her head out of the bathroom. Her hair was still soapy from the shampoo.  
“You need to put these books somewhere that's not the middle of the floor!”  
“We don’t have any shelf space!”  
“Stop buying so many books then! We barely have room for the things we have, you can’t keep buying more stuff.”  
“Juice, I have very little to fill my days off when you’re working. Books are good, they keep you smart. Maybe you should pick one up every now and again.”  
Kara retreated back to the shower, still able to hear Juice grumbling.  
“If the words are too big, I could read them to you!” She called.  
A loud thump sounded on the bathroom door. Kara assumed it was a book Juice had thrown, another thud came as the item hit the floor.  
A slam came from the front door and as Kara turned off the taps, the sound of the truck driving off gave her a clue that Juice had left her home alone.  
Picking up her beloved book, she got dressed and began to read where she’d left off.  
It wasn’t long before he had returned. Kara expected to hear the front door open, but instead, Juice was making a racket outside.  
Moving across the bed to the window, she looked out to see Juice pulling large slats of wood from the back of the truck. He grabbed a tape measure and was headed for the front door.  
Kara quickly moved back to her position, pretending to read.  
Juice didn’t acknowledge her as he came in, measuring the trailer from roof to floor, and the width of the wall space next to the couch. Using the pencil behind his ear, he scribbled the numbers down on a scrap of paper and made his way back out.  
Continuing to read, Kara would intermittently look out the window to check Juice’s progress. The looks became more frequent when Juice took his shirt off, using it to mop his sweaty brow. He tucked it into the waistband of his pants, and Kara felt the heat flush through her cheeks.  
Why did she have to be married to a man that damn fine and not get to touch him?  
“Fuck me.” Kara groaned when he stood, taking a large drink of water.  
It slipped past his lips and dribbled down his neck and chest, and Kara began fanning herself with her book.  
A couple of hours later, Juice walked back inside, carrying what looked to be two small sets of shelves. His biceps bulged as he carried the heavy wood, setting the first one down next to the couch.  
Kara peeked over her book, biting her lip as she watched him lift the second shelf and stack it onto the first, before pulling out the drill and screwing them together.  
She shot her gaze back to the book as Juice came over towards the bed and began picking up a pile of books sitting next to his side of it. Taking them back to the newly constructed shelves and lining them up. He did this until all the books bar the one Kara was pretending to read, were on the shelves. Walking over to her, he plucked the book from her hands, making her look up.  
“Unless you’re reading it, books belong on the shelves, okay?”  
“Well, I’m reading that one.”  
Juice gave her an unimpressed look, shoving the book back at her, heading back out of the van.  
Kara had meant to say thank you. Walking over to the shelves, she could see the precise work that had gone into them. All the edges sat flush and the screws were measured out to near perfection.  
As she was organising the books by title, Juice came back inside.  
“What do you think?” He asked, clearly not annoyed anymore.  
“They’re amazing, thank you. There’s still a shelf empty.”  
“Then I guess you have a few more books you can get before you need to take up a new hobby.” Juice smiled.  
“And you’re welcome.”  
“See, that there. You should do that more often. Makes it look like you don’t have a stick shoved up your ass.” Kara pointed to the grin on his face.  
“Bully.”

JUICE

Juice had never been one to initiate making friends. His fear of rejection outweighed the want of people’s love. Unless someone approached him, he kept his distance.  
Working at the Surf and Snorkel, he didn’t have to try. From the moment he was introduced to his co-workers, they hated him. He could see it in their eyes. One moment, they were salivating over Kara, but when Manny had introduced them as husband and wife, they were throwing him snide looks.  
His female co-workers were no better. They got in on the gossip, and were all part of the Juice Haters clique. They hated Kara too, as she took attention from them, but Juice was the one to hear it all.  
Juice’s fellow employees appeared to work under the assumption that because of his skin colour, he didn’t speak a lot of English. Considering the fact that he barely spoke in anything more than monosyllables, it was an easy assumption to make. That didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt.  
Juice was working the bar when he looked up and watched as Kara walked from the water. She had just finished a lesson, and had rolled down her wetsuit to to her hips. It was like slow torturous motion when she wrung her long hair out and the water dripped down her chest. Her stunning smile was on full display as she walked up to him at the bar, Juice waiting with her bottle of water.  
“Gracias, babe.” She told him when when he unscrewed the cap and handed it to her.  
Kara took several large gulps before handing it back for him to keep for her.  
Juice watched her walk away for a moment before putting the water back in the fridge behind the bar, that's when he heard the mutterings of some of his co-workers.  
“She is so hot.”  
“I swear, I’d do her right here on the bar. Too bad Pedro over there gets the honour.”  
Juice began to seethe. He knew what guys were like. Hell, he knew what girls were like. Regardless, he hated the disrespectful comments, even moreso that they were doing it while he was right there.  
This happened every shift. He heard what they said, repressing his anger at the fact that they hated him because his wife was hot and they couldn’t do all the unspeakable things to her that they wanted to because of him. It was hard, but Juice needed the job, so he kept his mouth shut.  
Juice looked up, spotting Kara coming back towards him, smile still on her face.  
Juice forgot for a moment how annoyed he was, looking at her the way only a husband should look at his wife. He shook the expression off his face and gave her a small smile.  
“Hey, let me get some more, it’s hot out there today.” Kara said.  
Juice grabbed her water bottle, uncapped and handed it over to her.  
“Thanks, Diego.” Kara gave a cheeky grin.  
She only ever called him Diego when they weren’t alone or with Manny and his family.  
“No hay problema, princesa.” He winked at her.  
“Look at you, learning your Spanish.” She smiled at him leaning over the counter.  
“You like that?” He leant on the counter, biting his lip.  
It might have been hot out in the water, but their current interaction was hotter.  
“Maybe.” She flirted back, leaning towards him.  
The moment was broken when her name was called back to the water.  
“My 2 o'clock is here.” She groaned, handing back the water for him to keep safe.  
“Make sure to put sunscreen on again. You don’t wanna get burned.” Juice responded quietly, Kara rolling her eyes playfully before heading back to work.  
“Hey, Kara, hot out there?” One of the guys yelled out.  
Andrew, Juice was sure that was his name.  
“Too hot!” Kara yelled back, walking down the pier.  
“Yes, you are.” Andrew said quietly so she wouldn’t hear, sly look spread across his face.  
“How do you think a dude like that got a chick like her? I mean, she’s all sunshine and rainbows, and he’s like a chunk of marble.” Another worker said in a loud whisper.  
“Dylan, you’re so fucking poetic. You can just say she’s happy and he’s a moody shit.” Andrew whispered back, sending a disgusted look down the bar at Juice.  
Juice saw it out of the corner of his eye, but ignored it. He thought it was better the less that they knew about him. If they stayed ignorant to the fact that he spoke perfect English, they wouldn’t get close and they wouldn’t find out anything they shouldn’t.  
Plus, they were assholes, and Juice didn’t need anymore assholes in his life.

Juice’s frustrations were tested a couple of weeks later. He was collecting snorkel gear off the pier that a bunch of tourists had conveniently forgotten to bring back to the equipment desk. He was near the office, partially blocking his view of the docks.  
While Juice stacked flippers on top of each other into his arms, Manny’s office door opened and Andrew walked out. He hadn’t noticed Juice, but saw Kara coming down the pier and walked over to her, unknowingly a few feet from her husband.  
“Hey, Kara.” Andrew called out to her.  
“Hey.” she smiled back politely  
“Have you seen Diego? I gotta figure out what he wants to do for dinner. We didn’t get to go grocery…”  
“No, I haven't.” Andrew cut her off with an apathetic tone, startling Kara.  
“But, hey there's a beach party tonight, everyone from the park is coming down. You in?”  
“Oh, cool. Maybe. I’ll see what Diego is up to, in case we have plans.”  
“Yeah, well if _Diego_ isn’t up for it, you can always come by yourself. I bet you’re a ton of fun.” Andrew stepped closer to her and Kara stepped back bumping into the wall of the building.  
Juice leant around the side of the office, still hidden, watching it unfold.  
Andrew brushed wet tendrils of hair from her forehead, and Kara flinched.  
Juice, seeing a visible shudder, went to step forward when Kara spoke up.  
“I’ll see, thanks for the invite, I gotta go.” Kara sidestepped him, walking away quickly.  
“Wear that swimsuit, if you come. Really suits you.” He called after her.  
“Bye, Andrew.” Kara said in a clipped tone, walking off and picking up the pace.  
Juice watched her go, about to follow and check up on her. But something primal overtook him, and his need to protect her made him drop the flippers and walk over to Andrew.  
“Hey hombre,” Juice said, causing Andrew to turn around. “So, you wanna fuck my wife, huh?”  
“...the fuck?” Andrew said, shock on his face.  
“That’s right, asshole. I’ve heard everything you and your friends have said about me and my wife.”  
Andrew turned to run, but Juice grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. Spinning Andrew back around, Juice grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall of the office building.  
Juice raised an eyebrow, getting in Andrew's face.  
“You ever touch my wife again, I will eviscerate you, you understand that?”  
Andrew nodded vigorously hoping that Juice would let him go.  
He was going to leave it at that, but he knew guys like Andrew. He’d ease off for a day or two, but he’d give in to the temptation and his ego. If Juice wanted it to stop, he had to do something.  
“This is your one and only warning.”  
He grabbed Andrew by the lapels of his shirt, launching him over the pier into the water.  
He couldn’t help a small chuckle, hearing Andrew’s high shriek as he fell to the water.  
“You fucking asshole!” Andrew spluttered, Juice looking over the railing of the pier down at the him.  
Juice turned and walked away, picking up the flippers and taking them to his desk to pack away.


	17. Chapter 17

JUICE

“Diego?” Juice look up at Manny.  
He indicated he wanted Juice to follow him. He did, walking out from behind the desk, closing the door behind him as they entered the office. Manny gestured for Juice to sit across from him.  
“Jugo,” he started. “You can’t go tossing co-workers off the pier.”  
Juice jumped up, staring at Manny in disbelief.  
“He’s been hitting on my wife! And Kara hates it. Him and all those other guys, they make her uncomfortable. What's worse is they do it right in front of me. They don’t think I understand English, and I’ve been keeping my mouth shut about everything they say, but I couldn’t any more. That’s _my wife_ and I’m not just gonna let assholes talk about her like that. I won’t. Especially not that moron. He touched her, Manny, you didn't see her face. He's lucky that's all I fucking did.”  
The smile on Manny’s face was sympathetic, and he motioned again for Juice to sit back down.  
“Andrew is a moron. He shouldn’t be hitting on your wife, he definitely shouldn't have touched her and I’ve told him so. I told him that if it’s reported again, I will be firing him without any other warning.”  
Juice sighed. “I just don't get it. Why do they have to mess with her. There's tons of other girls on the beach. Why my wife?”  
“Because, Jugo, they want what they cannot have.”  
Juice sighed, closing his eyes, anticipating what was coming. Andrew will have complained, demanded Juice be fired.  
“Am I... Are you gonna...”  
“Relax, Jugo. You’re not fired either. But I can’t play favourites, son. If you do this again, I’ll have to let you go. If any of them repeat what Andrew did, you come straight to me.”  
Juice nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry, Manny.”  
“We’re good.” Manny smiled. “  
“Are you ready for your cover up tonight?” He pointed to Juice’s arm.  
Juice looked down at the tattoo, the small wave of grief he would have as it was erased would be quickly replaced with relief.   
“Yeah.”  
“Finish up your shift. Go home, take a shower, I will meet you at my place, 3pm. Dinner after.”  
Nodding once more, Juice got up and left the office, feeling even better than when he’d thrown Andrew from the pier. Only just.

KARA

Andrew had spotted her coming out of Manny’s office. Kara really wished she had left the wetsuit zipped up, but it had been a long day in the water and she didn’t want to risk chafing where she could help it.   
But chafing seemed like a paradise if it meant Andrew and the other employees would stop looking at her.   
It wasn’t like the other girls weren’t attractive, they were. But something about Kara had caught the attention of the guys, Andrew in particular, and the remarks were starting to make her feel more and more uncomfortable.  
Kara knew she could say something to Juice, but she didn’t want him to do something he would regret. She could talk to Manny, but she didn’t want to make waves. As much as she loved the rich life, she was beginning to enjoy the quiet. There was no way she wanted to lose the life she was creating here. Not until she and Juice figured out what they were going to do when they had enough money, that is.  
Andrew had called out to her and came over, asking if she wanted to come to a party.  
Kara knew Juice had a tattoo appointment with Manny that afternoon, and she’d hoped that Carmen and Gloria would be happy if she came over while Juice was out. She didn’t like being home alone, and she’d really been enjoying the women’s company.  
Juice and Kara had been over for dinner a few more times, and Kara started to see some changes in Juice already, on account of him spending time with Manny. He was more patient with her, softer, almost.  
Finally brushing off Andrew, she walked towards the equipment shack looking for Juice. Putting her flippers and snorkel on the desk, she looked around. He wasn’t there, so she grabbed a drink from the bar before heading down to the beach.  
That being unsuccessful, she walked back into the equipment shack, beginning to worry. Kara knew he was rostered to work in there today, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t had to swap or take over for someone. That’s what she told herself to stop panicking.   
“Hey, Tahlia, is Diego around?”  
“Just got called into Manny’s office.” Tahlia replied, a smug grin on her face.  
Kara walked away, concerned by the joy Tahlia seemed to be getting from Juice being asked to see the boss. She was about to knock when she heard Manny followed by Juice’s raised voice.  
 _“Jugo, You can’t go tossing coworkers off the pier.”_  
“He’s been hitting on my wife! And Kara hates it. Him and all those other guys, they make her uncomfortable. What's worse is they do it right in front of me. They don’t think I understand English, and I’ve been keeping my mouth shut about everything they say, but I couldn’t any more. That’s my wife and I’m not just gonna let assholes talk about her like that. I won’t. Especially not that moron. He touched her Manny, you didn't see her face. He's lucky that's all I fucking did.”  
Heart skipping a beat, she smiled, ear to the door, hearing Juice declare that she was his wife, he would protect her.  
Kara snapped out of her revery when she heard Manny tell Juice to finish his shift. She legged it to the shack, standing at her equipment that she’d left there as though she’d never left.  
“Hey, Kara.”  
“Hey, Jugo.” No one was around, so she reverted back to her nickname for him   
“Everything okay?” Juice asked, true concern in his eyes.  
“Yeah, everything’s great! Andrew asked us to a beach party, but I was thinking I might go hang with Carmen and Abuela while you’re out. Do you think that’d be ok?”   
Kara wanted him to know that she had no intentions of going to the party.  
If she told him she’d overheard his conversation with Manny, he might be upset, or worse, he might take back all the kind things he’d said and tell her it was just to get out of trouble with Manny.  
“Of course it would, I’m waiting for them to say that they’re adopting you and you’re going to live with them.”  
“We all know Manny would adopt you in a heartbeat, he needs another guy around that place.” Kara giggled, and Juice smiled.  
Even though his smiles had become more frequent, they were still few and far between, so she took each one in as much as she could.  
“I’m finishing my shift in about twenty minutes. We’ll go back to the trailer and clean up, then we’ll head to Manny’s.”  
Kara nodded and made to head back to the truck to wait for Juice, all her lessons over for the day. But an idea came to her that she couldn’t shake, as ridiculous as it sounded. She turned right around and headed for the office.  
Knocking on the door, she heard Manny invite her in.   
“Manny, you got a sec?”  
“Just finishing up, what can I do for you?”  
“I was wondering, how far your garage contacts extend?”


	18. Chapter 18

JUICE

Juice and Kara made it to Manny’s a few minutes before three. They made their way inside, and Kara migrated to the living room, sitting with the Carmen and Gloria.  
Manny came inside from the back yard, and smiled to Juice.   
“Let’s go, Jugo.”  
Manny drove to the opposite end of town, walking with Juice into the tattoo parlour. He greeted a man, introducing him to Juice.  
Juice explained what he wanted done, and the artist told Juice to sit, going through the process that he had been through so many times before.   
It was a good feeling, sitting in the chair. He was on the move again, not physically anymore, but going further and further from the life he once had that rejected him. The artist dipped the tattoo gun into the ink and looked to Juice.  
“Ready?”  
Juice nodded, settling back and relaxing. The familiar scratching on his arm tingled his skin, and he felt like he could breathe a little more.  
Manny and Juice were silent for most of the two hours that he sat.   
“I’m gonna stop there today, I got a couple more people coming in before close. I’ll book you in again for next week.”  
The artist cleaned up the area, wrapping it, before getting up to answer the phone.  
Juice looked down at his arm. The reaper was gone. There was a large rectangle block of black covering where the reaper once was, with a line coming out from the top and the bottom of the rectangle, wrapping around his arm, like a large cuff.  
“Holy shit.” Juice breathed out, his eyes becoming involuntarily wet.   
A large hand gripped his shoulder, breaking his stare. Juice blinked a few times and looked up to Manny.   
“It looks good, Jugo. This is good son. _Este es el comienzo de una nueva vida._ (This is the start of a new life.)"  
Juice nodded when Manny translated. This was the start of his new life.

Leaving the tattoo parlour, they made their way back to Manny’s. They walked through the front door, to find the women huddled together on the couch. There was a jug that Juice assumed had once been full of mojitos, now half empty, the women clutching their glasses and each other.  
“We’re back-” Manny started, before all three turned in their seat, shushing him.   
They were all teary-eyed, intently watching the TV.   
“Looks like we’re ordering in tonight.” Manny smiled, leading Juice into the kitchen.  
Juice grabbed them both beers from the fridge while Manny made a call to their local pizza place.   
“Yeah, make sure you throw in ice cream. Large tub. Gracias.” Manny turned to Juice.   
“If your Kara is anything like my Carmen and Abuela, she’s gonna need comfort food after watching that.”  
Romantic music swelled from the TV, and Juice watched as Kara sat, unblinking, completely transfixed by the show.  
Kara was so passionate about life, reality or fiction. She lived so hard for what she loved, and like her novels, Juice could see the telenovelas already consuming her life.  
It wasn’t just her passion that caught his attention. Something about the way she was sandwiched between the two women, the love they had for her already, and how she gave it back so freely, how much he knew she deserved it, despite the mistakes she’d made; it made him want to give her the life she deserved, the life she so desperately wanted.   
He didn’t know if he’d be able to do it as her husband, but he found himself wanting to be the one who gave it to her.  
“But… WHY??” Kara exclaimed, and it made him jump, being so deep in thought.  
“Here, have some more, it helps.” Carmen said, picking up the jug and refilling everyone’s glass.   
Switching the TV off, they all migrated to the kitchen together.  
“So, we have to wait for next week? What’s gonna happen to Javier? He’s not actually dead, is he?? He’s perfect for Isabella!” Kara whined.  
“That’s the beauty of telenovela, _nina._ ” Carmen said, making more drinks. They joined Juice and Manny at the table, still discussing the characters and filling Kara in on more details.  
“Jugo, I’m so glad you are here. Now I don’t have to care about Isabella’s memory loss and Javier’s crazy twin.” Juice chuckled at Manny and the outraged looks on the women’s faces.  
Gloria began telling Manny off in Spanish, and while he had no clue what she was saying, Juice was a little fearful for Manny’s life.  
The doorbell rang and Manny raised his hands in surrender, going to get their food. “Quick, the next one is starting!” Carmen called, bringing out plates to the living room.  
The women resumed their spots, Manny and Juice taking the other chairs. Carmen and Gloria gave Kara a quick rundown of the storyline for the new telenovela, before the theme music ended.  
By the end of the night, tears were falling from Kara’s eyes as she gorged herself on ice cream and another mojito.   
“I know these shows are supposed to be over the top and bad, but not enough to make you drunk-cry.” Juice laughed, looking at Manny.  
Manny’s eyebrows were raised and he was vigorously shaking his head at Juice.  
“These shows,” Carmen said, a firm, motherly tone in her voice. “Are heart-wrenching, provoking the emotions to feel openly. This is not drunken crying, this is a pouring out of the heart and soul.”  
Juice had never heard Carmen be so stern and serious in her life. She was so sweet, caring and nurturing. Manny was trying to hide his silent laughter, but Juice saw, assuming he’d heard this speech before.  
Juice swallowed, humbling himself. “I’m sorry, Carmen. I didn’t realise how deep these shows were.”  
“You men never do.” She replied, throwing a disapproving look to Manny.  
She got up, taking the empty pizza boxes into the kitchen.  
“Don’t worry, Jugo, she’ll calm down in a minute. They’re like a whole other person watching these shows, and then they come back to reality.”  
Juice smiled, picking up everyone’s plates and taking them out to the kitchen. “Thank you, Jugo.” Carmen said.   
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to, ya know, be rude or anything.”   
Carmen smiled, the light and softness returning to her eyes.  
“It’s fine, Jugo.” she assured him, putting a hand on his, squeezing it.   
“You be a good boy and look after her. She is special.”  
Juice smiled, nodded and returned to the living room, sitting next to Kara who had stopped crying.  
“You alright?” He asked, taking the empty bowl from her and putting it on the table.  
“Yeah.” she replied, giggling and wiping her eyes.   
“We should probably get home.”  
“I can’t walk, I ate too much.” Kara said, her flat stomach now bloated.  
“Come on, I’ll help you.” Juice gave her a hand up, one arm around her as she slowly walked over to everyone to say goodnight.  
Kara held her stomach as they trudged to the truck.  
“Ugh, Juice, I don’t feel so good.”  
Juice kept his arm under hers, picking her up, her legs draped over his other arm.  
“Hold on to me.” He said.  
Kara wrapped her arms around his neck, Juice using his hand to grab the keys from his pocket. He opened the door and set her down inside, buckling her up.   
“Let’s get you home.”  
Kara leant her head up against the passenger window, groaning in agreeance.

They made it home without Kara being sick, and Juice carried her to bed, laying her down. He turned off the lights and crawled into bed next to her.  
Kara shuffled towards him a little, grabbing his arm to pull it around her.   
Juice hissed and he pulled his arm away.   
“I’m sorry, Juice!” she slurred, a little drunk and half asleep.  
“It’s okay.” He said gently, bringing his arm back around.  
“Did it hurt lots?” Kara asked slurring a little.  
“A bit. Still got a couple more sessions before it’s finished, but the important bit is done.” Juice felt Kara nod her head.  
“Will you rub my belly? It hurts.” Kara whined.  
Juice sighed, bringing his hand around and laying it on her stomach and rubbing light circles over it.  
As he felt Kara quickly drift off to sleep, a thought entered his mind that he hadn’t given permission to before. For the first time he entertained the idea of their marriage becoming more than just a piece of paper...  
Juice stopped himself. He couldn’t. They had become good friends, and this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.  
 _Why couldn’t it happen?_ Another intrusive thought asked. Before he could make up excuses, he’d fallen asleep, hand still on her stomach.


	19. Chapter 19

JUICE

The shower woke Juice. He rolled over, Kara missing from the bed. Pulling on pants, he began to make breakfast for the pair of them.  
“Oh, hey, I’m gonna take this to go, I picked up an extra shift today. You cool if I take the truck?”  
“Yeah, sure.”   
This was the fourth extra shift she’d picked up in the last two weeks.  
“Thanks, I’ll see you after work.” Kara smiled, putting a piece of toast in her mouth as she grabbed the keys, leaving Juice to his thoughts.   
_Why is she picking up extra shifts? Surely she would have told me she was thinking of working more hours, she tells me everything else,_ Juice thought, not even touching his breakfast.  
He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t get in his own head. Juice knew it was crazy. Kara wasn’t about to hurt him. He was pretty sure, anyway.   
“We’re not really married. We’re going separate ways at some point, aaaaand I’m talking to myself.”  
Juice shook his head at himself, feeling ridiculous. He wasn’t going to sit around and mope all day. He got up and had a shower, beginning to fix a few little bits and pieces around the trailer. That lasted about an hour before Juice thought he was going to jump out of his skin.  
He didn’t have the truck, and there wasn’t a whole lot he could be bothered to go shopping for. Changing into board shorts, he took off down the beach, walking right out into the ocean.   
He dove under the water, the pressure deafening him to even his own thoughts as he stroked through the water as far as his breath could take him.  
Surfacing, he inhaled deeply. Laying back, he floated as the calm surf moved under him, bobbing him up and down as he looked up to the bright blue sky.  
 _She’s gonna leave. She’s making more money so she can leave sooner.  
You were never going to be together. This was just until you’d gotten away.   
She’s gotten everything she needed from you and now she’s getting ready to go._  
“But I don’t want her to go.” The words left Juice’s lips and he immediately sealed them.   
He had to stop her. He didn’t want her to go, he’d admitted that much.  
Swimming back to shore, he began walking back to the trailer. He saw Kara part way there, and her face lit up.  
“Jugo! I was just coming to look for you! Quick, come with me.” Kara grabbed his hand and began to drag him towards the trailer park.  
“Wait, I wanna tell you something.”  
“That can wait, I gotta show you something.”  
“No, Kara, I know wh-”  
“Juice, please, trust me. You’re gonna wanna shut up.”  
Juice gave in, letting her lead him around the side of the trailer.   
“Ta-Da!!”  
“Kara… That’s the truck.”  
“No, _tonto,_ what’s in the truck bed?”  
Juice hadn’t really been paying attention, his focus on all his worries rather than what Kara was pointing at. He looked at her, seeing the excitement in her eyes, and he looked at the truck, moving around to see what he should have noticed in the first place.  
Strapped down to the bed of the truck was a motorcycle. It was rusted and beat up, but the bones seemed good to Juice as he rounded the bed, looking the bike over.  
“This is a 1985 Triumph Bonneville.” He said, eyes wide, not able to believe what he was seeing.  
“Or so the guy who sold it to me said. Manny checked it out, said it should be fine once you’ve cleaned it up, new parts, whatever.”  
Juice smiled spread across his face, shaking his head, hesitant to touch it.  
“Wh..” He started to ask.  
“I saw the look on your face, that day we were eating ice cream and that bike went passed. I know you don’t like to talk about it, and you wanna erase that life, but… It’s okay to have some things we love from the past, right?” Kara said, standing next to him.  
He turned to her, smile still plastered to his face.   
“Yeah, I think so.”   
They got the bike down, Juice leaning it on it’s stand.   
“Thank you.”  
“You’re welcome.”  
Juice could have kissed her right then and there, but he hesitated, and she’d started talking again.   
“I have my books and telenovelas, I thought you should have a hobby too.”  
Juice couldn’t stop staring at the bike, making a mental inventory of all the things he would need.  
“Also, it’s been three months since we’ve been in Mexico, I thought maybe we could go out and celebrate being alive.”  
“Yeah, that sounds great.” Juice said.  
At this point, he’d give her anything she wanted.   
It was one of the few moments he’d allowed himself to be happy. He was alive, he had a bike again, he had people who cared about him, and as far as he knew, the people who had been after him thought he was dead and gone. He couldn’t think of any reason not to be happy.

There was a local restaurant where a live band played. Juice took Kara there, unable to stop grinning about all the good things in life, including the bouncing blond sitting next to him at the table. Watching her watching the band, smile on her face, with the twinkling lights all around them, all thoughts of her leaving him were gone.   
Juice knew now; Kara wasn’t a princess. Not a princess like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. She was wild, a little reckless, a warrior. If anything, she was Princess Leia. Fierce and outward in all her ways. The way she loved, the way she fought, everything was done with the highest passion.   
He wanted a love like that, the opposite to how he loved. Juice was a quieter soul. Always eager to please, never asking for applause, just hoping for someone to love him back. But Kara brought out his fun, free side, a side of himself that he hadn’t felt or seen in many years. He wanted it back, and he wasn’t going to let it slide now.  
“Come on.”   
“What?”   
Juice held his hand out to her. “Dance with me.”  
Looking at his hand, she bit her lip, thinking.   
“But I'm no good.”  
“Then let me show you.” He stood.  
Kara considered, taking a long sip of her drink before taking his hand and letting him lead her to the dance floor. A couple of songs later Kara was starting to get the hang of it. She stopped concentrating so hard and let herself enjoy it, her smile continued to grow with each new song that they danced to.  
Just after one in the morning, they stumbled into the trailer, giggling as they contemplated Abuela’s reaction when she discovered Kara’s new moves.   
Kicking off their shoes and climbing into bed, Kara snuggled up to Juice. She took him completely by surprise when she stretched up and kissed his cheek.   
“What was that for?” He asked, somewhat dumbfounded.  
“Thank you for tonight. It was... fun.” Kara replied.  
Juice wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol that made it seem that way, or the alcohol that had brought it out, but Kara was almost bashful.   
“Well, goodnight.” She whispered, rolling over and closing her eyes.  
It was Juice's turn to take her by surprise, and he wasn’t going to let the moment pass.   
He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back into his chest. Kissing her hair, he whispered a quiet goodnight and they both fell into a dreamless sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

KARA

It had been a two weeks since Kara had bought Juice the bike. She’d never seen him smile so much, and between him being moony-eyed at his new wheels, he was smiling at her. Being nice to her. Being happy. Until he started seeming distant.  
 _Maybe I’m getting it right, this time._ Kara thought every time they looked over their budget, taking their savings and setting it aside together each week. Getting their lives together.  
She thought it when they were spending all their free time together, when they spent time with their adoptive family, when they fell asleep curled up around one another at night.  
Kara was sure that he was going to kiss her when she gave him the motorcycle. Then again when they had been dancing.   
That wasn’t why she’d bought it for him, she genuinely wanted him to be happy. But deep down, she had hoped it would be a silent confession. It seemed to have had the opposite effect.  
Juice had been going shirtless a lot more often around the trailer. Kara wasn’t complaining, but it was hard to be civilised when everything inside her was screaming to throw her small self at him. She didn’t want to be desperate. The last time she was desperate with a guy, she ended up stabbed and nearly burnt alive.  
One morning, as Kara was cooking breakfast, Juice walked out from the bathroom in nothing but his boardshorts.   
_Jesus Christ,_ Kara thought when he came up behind her to get a mug from the cabinet over her head, brushing his bare chest against her back  
She found herself becoming irritated. It was irrational, she knew it. They hadn’t spoken about anything, just grown closer as friends and she couldn’t blame him for not saying anything, since she hadn’t either.  
“But he threw Andrew off a pier for me!” She had cried to Carmen and Gloria one afternoon while Juice and Manny were out for another tattoo session.  
Kara couldn’t help herself, she spilled to them after watching a particularly romantic episode of _Perdido en el Amor_. She’d sat between the two women, watching with a scowl on her face when Isabella finally remembered who Javier was and realised she loved him and not his twin.  
Carmen and Gloria had noticed Kara’s mood change, and after the episode, Kara had been interrogated.  
Kara couldn’t lie to them. They loved her so much and had taken her in. So she opened up, like she had with Juice. She told them how she felt, how frustrated she was, how she wasn’t really angry with Juice but at the same time wanted to smack him across the face and scream at him to just tell her how he feels before kissing him.  
The women looked at each other, knowing grins on their faces.   
“ _Mi hija,_ ” Carmen started, putting a loving arm around Kara.   
“Jugo has a lot of demons, he struggles. He will need time. I don’t know what he has seen, or done, but Manny tells me he carries a lot of burdens. A lot of insecurities. But he cares for you, deeply. We see it. Give it time.”  
Kara huffed, crossing her arms.  
“ _Si quieres que él sepa, no lleves nada a la cama, no puedes mezclar esa señal!_ (If you want him to know, do not wear anything to bed, you can not lose that signal!)” Gloria said, cackling wildly.  
“ _MaMa!_ ” Carmen had scolded.  
Kara laughed, wiping her eyes as Juice and Manny walked in the door.  
“You guys having fun?” Manny asked.  
They all nodded, looking from Manny to Juice.  
Kara saw him become uncomfortable.  
“So, uh… We should go.” Juice said, standing in the doorway. Kara followed, giving the women and Manny a hug goodbye.  
There was a small part of her that thought to try Gloria’s idea, but she settled herself, getting in the truck and heading home with him, thinking that at least she could still cuddle up to him at night. It was better than nothing.

JUICE

Juice had rolled over that night, not touching Kara. He tried so hard to fall asleep, but she was right there next to him and he wanted to hold her, kiss her, tangle his fingers in her hair. She’d stayed with him, calmed him when he’d had nightmares, knew how to distract him from his thoughts, showed him he could be happy.   
Kara had opened up to him completely, and he wanted to reciprocate, but… There was so much about himself that he wanted to be gone, that if he told her, then she would know everything he was capable of. And she might run. He couldn’t take that chance.   
Even after she’d bought him the bike, after he'd taken her out. Even after she'd kissed him.   
_It was just a thank you kiss. ON THE CHEEK. Get over yourself, man._  
She’d given him no reason to think that she wouldn’t understand, but there was a difference between running off with a drug dealer and murdering people at the order of crazy biker presidents.  
The fact that she’d bought him the bike felt like more than just wanting to make him happy. She knew him. Maybe not completely, but she’d shown more interest in him as a person in 6 months than anyone he’d known for years had.  
But Juice had started to back off, knowing that if he got that close, he’d have to tell her everything. If it was going to work, he’d need to be completely honest. He trusted her. He just didn’t trust himself.  
Kara was cooking eggs at the stovetop. When Juice came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder and leaning over her to get to the coffee mugs on the shelf above her. She turned and looked up at him, grin on her face.  
Juice looked at her, giving her a small smile, before moving over to the counter, prepping the coffee.  
Kara threw the spatula down on the burner.  
“What’s up?” Juice asked, wondering what he could had done to cause that reaction.  
Kara looked him up and down, shaking her head and grabbing her bag.  
“Jesus, put a damn shirt on for once!” She yelled, walking out the door.  
Juice scrambled, turning off the stovetop and putting the pan into the sink. He grabbed his clean work shirt that he’d left on the bed, picking up the truck keys and following her out.  
Kara wasn’t by the truck, but he saw her walking off in the direction of work.  
He jumped in, flooring it to get to her. He slowed down when he reached her pulling up, the truck crawling beside her.   
“Kara, get in the truck.”   
She just kept up walking.   
“Please Kara.”  
Kara stopped abruptly, unfolding her arms and slamming into the truck.   
“Did I do something wrong?”   
Kara folded her arms again, looking out of the passenger window.  
Juice shook his head, not going to try and apologise when he knew she wasn’t going to answer.  
They drove in awkward silence, Kara jumping out of the car and leaving him to clock in before he’d even turned the truck off.  
It was a long day, Juice trying to keep his mind off the altercation that morning.

_Doesn’t matter what I do,_ Juice thought to himself as he was putting away snorkelling equipment. _She’s gonna leave. If we get together, I’m going to ruin it. If I keep distancing myself, I’m gonna lose her._  
“Diego! Need some gear down on the beach!” Someone had called out. He hadn’t paid attention to who it was, just pulled out what was needed and began walking it down to the beach.  
A group of college girls were standing by one of the boats that were used to go snorkelling.  
“You guys here for the snorkelling?” Juice asked.  
The girls turned to him, openly checking him out. One girl in particular stepped forward, taking a set of flippers from him.   
“That’s not all we’re here for.” She said, her voice silky and her eyes flirtatious.  
“Alright, well this is your stuff, just take it up to the shack when you’re done.” Juice said, handing the gear over.   
The girls were good looking, and if his situation were different, he would definitely have continued the flirting, maybe even letting it go further. But things weren’t different.  
He made to turn around and head back to work, but the girl grabbed his arm, confidently pulling him in closer to her.   
“You know, I wouldn’t mind some private lessons, if you’re up for it.” She purred at him.  
Juice was about to pull his arm away and tell her that he didn’t give lessons when he spotted a very pissed off looking Kara.  
“We don’t do private lessons here.” She said, hands on her hips.  
“Excuse me?” The girl said, scrunching her nose up at Kara.  
“We only do group lessons. And he’s not an instructor. So you’ll have to find someone else. Sorry!” Kara replied, her words dripping with venomous sarcasm.  
“Psycho bitch.” The girl said turning and going back to her friends. Juice saw Kara about ready to launch at the girl. Acting quickly, Juice grabbed her around the middle and carried her over his shoulder, up the beach and under the pier.  
The pier was fitted with walls where the water didn’t come in. A few quad bikes were stored under there, and Juice set her down on the sand by the bikes.  
“You can’t just attack someone.” Juice scolded.  
“Oh? Well, it didn’t stop you, did it?”   
Juice was confused by what she meant.  
“What the hell is wrong with you?”  
“Them!” shrieked Kara.   
“I can’t believe I used to be like those entitled bitches and just seeing them made me want to drown them all!”  
“What do you care about them being entitled? You’re not that person anymore, so why does it matter that they are?”  
“Because I know what they’re thinking! They want you to be the story they take home to their Malibu homes. You’re the poor, sexy Mexican guy they hooked up with on vacation that they’ll sit around at brunch sipping mimosas and reminiscing on how you were good enough for a holiday fuck but not good enough to actually be with.” Kara said, wildly gesticulating.  
Juice was taken back by what she was saying. She had been annoyed at him for the past week, and now she was yelling at him about something that wasn’t his fault. She cared about him being used and abused, but it wouldn’t have annoyed him had she just spoken to him about it.  
“Oh, well do you think I’m excited having to watch every guy on the beach trip all over themselves when you’re walking around dripping wet, unzipping your fucking wetsuit, looking like something out of Sports Illustrated?” Juice gestured towards her wetsuit.  
Kara made to interrupt, but Juice ranted on.   
“Spitting comments about all the things they wanna do to you and wondering why you’re with a ‘piece of shit wetback’ because they think I can’t speak English? Do you think I care that I have no guy friends my age since they all hate me because they think I’m screwing you? Because I don’t care!” Juice yelled back.  
They’d stepped to each other, Juice glaring down at her, Kara glaring up to him, both breathing heavily.  
“Fuck it.” Juice said.  
He brought his lips crashing down onto Kara’s, eliciting a loud moan from the both of them. He began to step forward, Kara stepping backwards, letting him lead her.  
Pressing her against the wall, he felt her hands on his chest, grabbing at the fabric of his shirt, tugging at it as she moved her hands further down.  
Juice’s lips left Kara’s only long enough to pull the shirt over his head and cast it to the sandy ground.  
Tangling his hands back in her hair, Juice parted his lips, sucking her bottom lip, biting it every so often.  
A sensation tugged at his lower abdomen as Kara’s hands explored further down, playing with the tie on his shorts. He rolled his hips towards her, encouraging her to keep going.  
Kara pulled at the tie, pulling the shorts down along with his boxer briefs. She made an audible gasp as Juice pressed himself against her stomach.  
“So you don’t really care about all that stuff, huh?” She asked, gulping.  
“Shut up.” Juice ordered.   
“The only thing I wanna hear come out of that mouth is you moaning my name.” Juice growled into her ear.   
He ran his lips down the column of her neck and sinking his teeth into her shoulder, eliciting a pleasurable moan.  
Hooking this thumbs into the sides of the rolled down wetsuit, he ripped it down past her hips.  
Kara took care of the rest, stepping out of the suit, bringing herself back to Juice and pressing her lips to his again.  
Juice picked her up, wrapping her legs around him and holding her tight. His hand cracked against her ass cheek, and she bucked, rolling her hips into his length pulling a hiss from between his teeth.  
He walked them over to the bikes, choosing one without a rack on the back. Perching her on the edge of the bike, he pulled at the strings to her bikini, quickly ridding her of the top and bottom.  
Now that he’d tasted her, couldn’t couldn’t keep his lips off her. Laying her back, she rested against the seat of bike. He leant over her, kissing her deeply. Knocking her legs apart, and pressing himself against her entrance.  
They were feverish, Kara’s hands trailing over him until they reached his ass. Pulling him close to her, grinding against him, she coaxed him on, wriggling underneath him.  
Feeling how wet she was, Juice wasn’t in the mood to tease, each having denied themselves for long enough.   
Lining himself up, he thrust, firm but slowly, until he was deep inside of her.  
Kara cried out, throwing her head back, using her legs to squeeze around his hips and dragging her nails down his chest.  
Juice didn’t need anymore encouragement, sliding back out, slamming back in.   
Whipped into a frenzy from the pent up sexual tension, the argument, and now finally being together, they clung to one another while skin slapped against skin, lips covering lips, teeth nipping flesh, hands tangled back in hair and gripping onto wherever they found purchase.  
“Fuck, baby, I’ve wanted you for so long.” Juice moaned.  
“Mm, me too.”   
He felt her begin to clench around him, the tugging in his stomach more urgent now.   
“God, Juice!” Kara called out.  
Juice groaned as she pulsated around him, pulling his own release from him.  
They both paused, breathing raggedly, very unsure of what happened.  
“So… I guess the marriage is consummated now. No take backs.” Kara said.  
Juice breathed out a laugh. “No take backs.” He said, looking her square in the eye.  
Standing up, Juice reached for her bikini, handing it to her before retrieving his own clothing.  
“Dunno why we haven’t been doing that all along.” Kara said, half joking.  
Juice eyed her while she tied the strings of her bikini bottoms around her hips. He heard the humour in her voice but it didn’t reach her eyes. She was putting out the feelers, wanted to know what he was thinking.  
“I didn’t know you wanted to.” He replied.  
Sure, he’d gotten the feeling that things were becoming more friendly, but she was an affectionate person.   
And he was fearful.  
“Juice, I bought you a bike. We had that amazing night. God, that was my first real date! Then you went all weird, distant, I thought I’d done something wrong. But the way your face lit up when you saw the bike, I was sure you’d realised. Tossing Andrew off the pier, I thought…”  
“I didn’t know you knew about that.” Juice said, realising what she had meant earlier.  
“I’d come looking for you and heard you talking to Manny about it. I didn’t say anything then, but I thought maybe it was a grand gesture, of sorts. So I responded with my own.”  
“I’m sorry, I-” Juice started, but Kara cut him off.  
“No, it’s alright, we can talk about it later. Properly talk. When we’re not standing under a pier where we just had frustrated sex for the first time and desperately need to get back to work.”  
Juice smiled, getting an idea. Kara had finished struggling to get back into her wetsuit, and before she could zip it up the whole way, Juice scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder and walking out from underneath the pier.  
They were getting a few strange looks, but he didn’t care. Kara screeched, clinging to his shirt as Juice moved up the beach.  
“What are you doing!?” Kara asked between squealing and giggling.  
Juice didn’t answer, walking into Manny’s office.  
“We’re gonna need the rest of the day off, Kara’s not feeling well.”   
“What?” Kara asked, still perched on his shoulder.   
She tried to turn and look at Manny, but Juice had her legs pinned to his chest with his arm.  
“I’m fine, Jugo, what are y-” She was silenced by Juice smacking her on the butt again.  
“Oh, uh, yeah, I think I have… Scurvy.” Kara caught on, bringing out a fake cough for affect.  
Manny chuckled, shaking his head.  
“Don’t be late for dinner tomorrow.” He said waving them out.  
Juice grinned, turning around and rushing out, down the pier and across to the parking lot. Opening the door and placing her on the passenger seat, he ran around to the driver side, sliding in and hitting the gas, taking them home.


	21. Chapter 21

JUICE

“Call Manny and tell him we can’t go in today because you still have scurvy and you gave it to me.” Juice said, watching as Kara slid out of bed.  
“Scurvy isn’t contagious, it’s a vitamin deficiency.”  
“What a nerd.” Juice said, hauling his ass out of bed.   
“I couldn’t lie to Manny anyway. Well, except for yesterday when I told him you were sick, but I’m pretty sure he saw right through that.”  
“Ya think?” Kara said smiling at him as she disappeared into the bathroom, Juice hearing the shower running.  
He wouldn’t leave Manny high and dry, but he figured it would be alright if they were a few minutes late to work.  
Opening the door, he saw her, standing under the shower head. The water streamed off her body as she washed, soap suds slipping over her curves and crevices.  
It was a tight fit, but he moved into the shower with her, taking her poof and washing over her back with it.   
A small groan escaped from her, and she dropped her head forward a little to give him better access to the back of her neck.   
“You’re gonna make us late.”  
“Shh…” Juice turned her around to face him, kissing her softly and slowly, feeling her sink into him.  
“There’s literally no room in this shower for any of that.”  
“We’ll just have to go back to bed then.” Juice whispered, smiling against her lips.  
Kara pulled away.   
“As much as I would love to stay in bed with you all day, we really gotta move.”   
Her look was apologetic, and Juice nodded.  
They finished up, got ready and left the trailer.  
Driving along, Juice watched her out of the corner of his eye. Her fingers were tapping on the seat to the song playing on the radio he had fixed. Juice reached out, running the palm of his hand over the back of hers, linking his fingers through hers.  
He saw her smiling as she looked out the window. Pulling up to work, they grinned stupidly at each other, getting out of the car.  
“Hey, so are you cool with me taking the truck after I’m finished my shift? I wanna run over to the other side of town and pick up some parts for the bike.” Juice asked.  
“Yeah, I can walk home.” Kara replied, still smiling.  
“Great. Better get in there, then.” Juice said, prolonging it.  
“Yeah, we’d better.” Kara bit her lip, blushing a little.  
“I’m- I’ll just-” Kara gestured towards the Surf and Snorkel, and Juice nodded, letting her walk away first.  
They’d decided to play it cool, as they had done, since everyone was used to them not participating in public displays of affection.  
As he watched her go, Juice saw Andrew approaching Kara. He couldn’t quite hear them, so began walking in their direction.  
“Kara, you ok? Manny said you went home sick yesterday.”  
“Yeah, I’m fine, Andrew.”   
Kara had seen Juice coming, and he didn’t know whether she sensed his concern or she just couldn’t help herself, but she looked at him with the same lust in her eyes that she had under the pier   
“My man took real good care of me.”  
Juice smirked, standing next to her.  
“Yeah, gave her just what she needed.”  
Juice’s hand connected with her ass cheek, slapping it firmly and grabbing at it.  
“Ah, babe!” Kara squealed giggling, playfully slapping his chest.  
“We should get to work.” He said, steering her towards the shack.  
They looked at one another, chuckling at the shocked look on Andrew’s face.  
“I don’t think he’ll be bothering me much anymore. That was some caveman shit you pulled there.” Kara said.  
“I know I told Manny I wouldn’t go after him again, but if he does pull anything, you let me know. He might just end up needing to go for a swim, after hours.” Juice winked at her.

Juice drove over to the mechanics to pick up the parts he had ordered for the bike. It had been so long since he’d ridden a bike, and he couldn’t wait to get started on his. It would be a long project, but worth it. He didn’t feel any reluctancy towards the task, just pure excitement, and on top of the joy he felt about finally being with Kara, he was practically euphoric.  
Even the sight of a reaper didn’t squash the feeling.  
Juice was waiting for the mechanic to bring out his parts, looking out into the street, not paying attention to anything else but his thoughts. Thoughts that were finally happy and not full of dread.  
His focus wavered momentarily, when he thought he saw a flash of a reaper across the street.  
The road was busy, with many cars driving along, but when they’d cleared a little again for him to see, he couldn’t find the man anywhere.  
He was in too good of a mood to panic, he hadn’t gotten a real look as it was so far away.   
The mechanic came out with the parts, and Juice shrugged it off, the thought of what he may have seen forgotten as he paid and left the garage.  
Heading back towards his end of town, Juice saw a florist, pulling into a spot out front of the store.  
So many colours and types of flowers filled the store, and Juice felt a little overwhelmed. He’d never bought flowers for anyone before.  
Wandering around, there were black buckets of flowers with their names written on the sides in white pen.  
Juice stopped at one bucket labelled ‘dahlias’. Vibrant and blooming, Juice ran a gentle finger over the clustered petals. The coral colour was so bright and happy, he grabbed a bunch and took them over to the sales assistant. She wrapped the stems in brown paper and tied it off with twine.  
Setting the flowers on the seat next to him, Juice pictured the smile on Kara’s face when he gave them to her.  
Juice rolled up to the trailer, grabbing the flowers and hiding them behind his back as he went inside.  
Kara was on the phone, chatting away happily. She gave him a small wave when he came in.  
Juice guessed she was talking to Carmen and Gloria, Kara squealing about Javier and Isabella.  
“We are going over there in twenty minutes! Talk to them about it then! What if I’d called with an emergency?” Juice shook his head, laughing incredulously.  
“This is an emergency! Isabella’s just found out she has a twin!” Kara hissed back at him.  
“I thought Javier had the crazy twin?”  
“One sec, guys.” Kara moved the phone away.   
“How do you know about Javier’s twin?”  
“Maybe because I listen to you when you go on about that show.”   
Juice pulled the dahlias out from behind his back, holding them out to her.  
“Wow.” Kara’s expression softened.  
“You like them?”  
Kara put the phone to her ear again.  
“Carmen, I’ll talk to you when I get there.” She said, hanging up the phone and taking the flowers.   
“They’re beautiful.”  
Juice smiled, watching her as she delicately stroked the petals. He looked her over, noticing she wore a dress he hadn’t seen before. Her hair was down and she wore strappy sandals.   
“You look beautiful.”  
Kara looked up at him.  
“Oh, um, thank you. I ran up to the dress shop after my shift. I just wanted to wear something other than a tank top and shorts, for once. It didn’t cost much, I just thought it was really pretty and-”  
Juice cut her off with a kiss. “If my girl wants to buy herself a dress, she can buy herself a dress.”  
He kissed her again before moving around her.  
“I gotta take a quick shower and we’ll leave.”  
Kara nodded, and Juice got himself ready for dinner.


	22. Chapter 22

KARA

During dinner, Carmen and Gloria had noticed a change in the way that Kara and Juice had interacted. Kara was loving being interrogated about it the minute the men left the house to go out and work on Juice’s bike together.  
“What’s happening with you two?” Carmen asked immediately and Kara turned a fabulous shade of red.  
“We, uh, we kinda, um… Took the relationship to the next level.”  
“ _Sentido...?_ (Meaning…?)” Abuela pushed, the poor woman was desperate for answers.  
“We had sex.”  
Both Carmen and Gloria jumped up from there seats, Carmen shaking her hands in excitement, Gloria doing a victory lap around the coffee table.  
“Have you talked? I mean, it’s not the most conventional of marriages, you guys have to sort this out.” Carmen said once both women had calmed down.  
“Not yet. It only happened yesterday. We want to, but we had work today and then we came over here so there hasn’t been much time.”  
“It’s ok, _mi hija,_ it’ll happen. But I’m so glad to see you happy again. We were worried about you two.”  
Kara smiled, feeling so full of joy. A little worry crept around the edges, but she knew that it would be gone once they finally spoke.  
“I do have one thing to ask, though.” Kara said, feeling awkward for having to ask in the first place.  
“Anything, what do you need?”  
“I, um, I wanna get some birth control. I’m just not sure where to go, could you take me?”  
“Of course, sweetheart, we can go on your next day off.”  
“I’ll be off tomorrow, if you’re free.”  
“ _No lo necesitas._ (You don’t need it).” Gloria intervened on the conversation.  
“Abuela!” Kara shrieked, giggling while Carmen told her mother off in Spanish.  
“ _¿Qué? Quiero grandababies!_ (What? I want grandbabies!)”  
Carmen shook her head. “I will take you tomorrow.”  
Kara thanked her, still giggling at Gloria.

JUICE

“Are you happy, Jugo?” Manny asked.  
Juice had told him about finally being with Kara, and he couldn’t stop smiling.  
“Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”  
“You don’t need to have any doubts about how she feels about you. It might not have happened in the traditional way, but you can make this work, if you really want it.”  
Juice nodded, looking at his hands, thinking of all the things he’d done. “I know I need to tell her everything. It’s just… it’s not easy.”  
“Son, I think she’ll be more understanding than you think. And don’t judge yourself so harshly. You’re a good person, under all the mistakes you’ve made. You’re doing the right thing now. It’ll be alright.”  
“Thanks, Manny. I dunno what we’d have done if we didn’t meet you guys.”  
“We’re your family, we’re here for you both.” Manny replied, standing up from his chair.  
“Let’s head back inside and make sure Abuela hasn’t started making wedding plans.”

Juice was heading back to Manny’s to drop him off and pick Kara up after being at work. He’d dropped her there in the morning and she’d been there all day, Juice assuming they’d been watching their telenovelas and talking girly stuff.  
Kara was in the kitchen, sitting at the breakfast bar, reading a little pamphlet.  
Juice grabbed a water from the fridge walking up behind her he bracketed her in with his arms, nuzzling his face into her neck. Kara giggled as Juice kissed her neck.  
“Hey gorgeous, how was your day?”  
Kara looked at him, smiling widely and giving him a sweet kiss as he sat down next to her.  
“Hey, good. Carmen and Abuela took me to the doctors.”  
Juice sat back, worried look on his face.  
“Are you sick? Is everything ok?”  
“I’m fine, Jugo, I just needed to get some, ya know, birth control. I found out this morning that we… got lucky this time around. I just wanted to be covered since we’re, ya know.”  
“Oh, okay, as long as you’re alright.”  
Kara smiled, placing her hand in his cheek.  
“I'm fine, Jugo.” She kissed him again, touched by his concern.  
They were still very careful with one another, keeping the public displays of affection to a minimum. But here at Manny and Carmen’s they were at their second home and just as comfortable here as they were in their little airstream trailer.  
“No, no, don’t need.” Gloria said, coming into the kitchen, shaking a finger at the box Kara had.  
“Abuela, seriously!” Kara rolled her eyes, having heard this same thing all day.  
“What’s wrong?” Juice asked, drinking from his bottle.  
“This, no good. I want grandbabies. You tell her.” Gloria said to Juice.  
He nearly sprayed his water everywhere, choking slightly, look of horror on his face.  
“I see your English is coming along, Abuela.” He said when he caught his breath.  
Gloria came around the bench top, placing her hands on his shoulders.  
“You tell her. Many beautiful babies.”  
“We live in an airstream trailer! We don’t even have room for us, Abuela!”  
Gloria resorted back to Spanish, and Juice looked to Kara for translation.  
“She said we will move in here and be with our family. She will help.” Kara said, blushing and giggling.  
“Mama!” Carmen called from down the hall, and Gloria shuffled off with one last look at the couple.  
“Abuela is very excited.” Kara said, watching her as she left.  
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy about this, too.” Juice said.   
“But we should probably talk. Soon. We need to work everything out.”  
“Yeah. Tonight?”  
Juice nodded. There was still a niggling worry, but he remembered what Manny had said, and he never wanted to hide anything from Kara, not anymore.

“Okay. So I guess we should probably talk about what this is.” Kara said, sitting across from Juice in their trailer.  
They decided on that spot as there was less distraction in the booth, and there was a wide table between them. More of an obstacle than laying in bed together.  
“Before we do, I wanna tell you some shit I’ve been keeping to myself. I gotta warn you, it’s not pretty and you might… Think less of me by the end of it.”  
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Kara smiled warmly at him. “Go ahead.”  
It took Juice some time. He was selective with his words, being thoughtful before he spoke. It was a full two minutes of staring at the fake marble table top before he even opened his mouth. He knew talking about it was going to be hard, but he forced himself to come clean.  
Juice didn’t hold anything back, when he started talking. He told her how he’d come to the club, how they’d helped out a club associate when his daughter was raped. How he’d gone to Ireland in search of one of his brother’s children who had been taken, and the IRA blowing up some of the Irish charters  
How Miles had caught him as the informant and had come at him, causing Juice to kill him in self defense. How he’d become a rat, the only thing he could think to do that would save his beloved club. Trying to hang himself. Feeling like he had to prove himself to the club, while ultimately nearly losing himself as a human. Jax forcing him to kill Darvany as proof he was loyal. How it ate him up inside that he’d nearly overdosed. Coming clean to Nero, and Nero turning on him. And finally, hitting rock bottom and going to Alvarez, the last resort. Not to give up things about the club, but things that they knew about The Mayans.  
But through it all, Juice never wanted to hurt the club. No matter how they’d treated him, he loved his brothers. They had given him a home when he needed one most, and he did everything in his power to pay them back.  
Everytime he brought up something new, he felt not only relief to finally be able to talk to someone he trusted about it all, but a realisation that maybe it wasn’t all on him. The blame was not only his, but the club’s. He never really felt like he could go to any of them, not even Chibs, with the things that forced him to make bad choices. It didn’t seem to matter how much he did, he was always a prospect with a patch.  
“When I told you how serious it was, me getting out, I wasn’t kidding. We were involved with some fucked up stuff, and the club had some fucked up stuff done to it. We’re not the good guys, we’re just as bad as the others. I’m a bad person who has done bad things, and I just want to put it all behind me.”  
Kara sat in silence, taking all the information in.  
Juice hadn’t expected her to talk straight away, he knew it was a lot of information.  
“Please, when I say this, don’t think I’m judging you, because I’m not. I have no right to judge you, and honestly, I don’t want to. But yeah, you did some messed up things.”  
Juice inhaled sharply, waiting for the ear bashing he was about to get. He knew he deserved it, and even though he was terrified she might leave him, he wouldn't have been able to be what she needed without telling her everything. The relationship he had with his club, it didn’t work. Both sides were not open, and he knew that the same fate would fall on his relationship with Kara that fell on the brotherhood he had with the Sons.  
“But it’s not about you doing bad things. It was about you doing what you had to in the situation you were in. Miles didn’t have to come at you like that. He could have taken you back to the club and they could have dealt with you, but he didn’t. And yeah, the club thinks he was a rat, but he’s dead now, and you’ve paid for it. So you have to let it go.  
“What Jax made you do, and from what you’ve told me, that was just… That wasn’t club rules. That was Jax rules. You shouldn’t carry the weight of someone else’s guilt placed on you.”  
Juice sat, listening to her defend him like she was his lawyer, but one that truly believed in her client’s case.  
She was like a saviour, handing out absolution for his sins freely, taking the burden of judgement and casting it from him like it never existed. Not denying his wrongdoings, but giving him the freedom from them that gave him hope for a life that he didn’t deserve, but so wanted.  
Juice wondered if this was what confession felt like.  
“Thank you for trusting me with all that. I know it must have been hard.”  
“If we’re gonna do this, I can’t have secrets from you.”  
“Good.”  
They sat quietly, getting through their first big talk that hadn’t involved arguing and angry revelations.  
“So, next step, deciding where we’re going.” Juice said.  
Neither of them spoke, both too scared to say how they felt.  
“Damn it, this is harder than admitting all the shit I just told you.”  
“Tell me about it. I mean, we’ve pretty much been through the worst of the worst, both apart and together. I feel like we get each other. And we’re gonna get each other more now that we know everything. I think we can make this work, if you want to.”  
Kara was shy, biting her lip, waiting for his response.  
“I want to.” Juice said, fiddling with his ring.  
“Something else, Juice?”  
Juice let out a breath that he didn’t realise he’d been holding.  
“I want a family. A real one. I mean, we’ve pretty much been adopted into Manny’s family, and that’s what I want, but… I want a family of my own, too. I want kids. I dunno how many, I didn’t even really think it would happen. But now that I can see the possibility, with you, I want it. I hope that doesn’t scare you.”  
“It doesn’t. I haven’t been scared since we got out of that tunnel. It’s crazy, thinking about all this stuff. As shitty as the situation was, I’m so glad you were there with me. I never would have gotten out of that tunnel without you. And now we’re sitting around our table talking about a future together. It’s just… crazy.”  
Juice agreed, still sliding his ring around his finger.  
“Oh, but yeah, I- I want kids.” Kara added.  
“So, we start working towards this, together.” Juice said, tapping his ring as if fell back into place.  
“Yep. Should probably find a bigger place, go on a few more dates at some point.”  
“Yeah, we’ve been doing things out of order since the start, why change that now.” Juice chuckled.  
They fell into silence again, but this time it was comfortable, the tension of uncertainty lost between them.  
Juice stood, stopping next to Kara and held out his hand.  
“Let’s go to bed.”  
Kara accepted his hand and they walked to their bedroom, undressing and climbing into bed.  
Juice put his arm under her head, she settled her leg over his.  
Kara sighed.  
“What's wrong?” He asked.  
“It's just… out of everything you told me; gun running, cartels... killing. Only one thing scared me.” She sat up and looked him in the eye.  
“You have fought so hard to live, but there was one moment you didn't want to and... But, if you ever feel like you are going down that path again…”  
“Never, baby. Never again. I wanna...”  
“I know. I know you want to live, but, just know that your death, it wouldn’t just happen to you. Death happens to the people around you, to the people who love you. It would happen to-” Her breath hitched, but she cleared her throat and began again.  
“It would happen to me.”  
Juice stared into her eyes, shining with tears, lip trembling, as his own eyes glossed over. He would never leave her.  
“I love you too.” He whispered.  
Kara broke, a sob escaping her lips.  
Juice leaned up kissing her.  
“I love you, Kara.” He mumbled against her lips.  
“I love you.” He repeated.  
“I love you, too.” She breathed out.  
Juice rolled her over, kissing her deeply.  
“God, baby.” He sighed, moving his lips to her jaw and down her neck.  
Kara's hands roamed down his back pulling at his boxer briefs, and Juice assisted her before sitting up, slowly sliding down her underwear. Leaning down he kissed his way up her thigh, over her hip.  
She had been wearing one of his shirts, and Juice removed it, as his lips trailed up her body. Kisses rained over her stomach, up her chest finally meeting her lips.  
“Juice...” She moaned, as he took ahold of himself and entered her slow and deep.  
Making love until they both crashed into one another, panting, wrapped up in each other's arms.  
They stayed like that for the rest of the night until they fell asleep, trailing fingers over limbs, soft kisses, the only noise coming from the water crashing against the beach outside.


	23. Chapter 23

JUICE

Their savings was growing, and even though the peak tourist time was coming to an end, Kara was still in high demand for her lessons, and Juice had gotten a full time job working at the mechanics he had enquired at when they had first moved out to Manzanillo.  
It was a busy little place, and the summer workers had moved on in their travels. Juice had impressed the boss with his skills and was given the job after a short trial period. Between working there and on his own bike, it felt good to have familiarity in his life, without the aspect of danger looming overhead.  
He was sad to not be working at the Surf and Shack, but Manny already had his full time staff, and Juice never expected Manny to let one of them go for him.  
Manny and Carmen had offered to help them find a place to live. Abuela had offered to plan the wedding despite being told on numerous occasions that there was no need. As far as getting their lives together, they were on track.  
Juice had taken Kara on a number of successful dates, and they’d spent many quality hours hanging out, getting to know each other on all levels.  
Coming home from a night at the movies, Juice was not in the mood to go to bed.  
“Wanna go for a walk?”  
“Can we bring the leftover snacks?” Kara said, holding up a bag of candies they’d brought back from the cinema.  
“Yeah, of course.” Juice chuckled.  
Walking passed the van, they made their way down to the beach.  
“Let’s go this way.” Juice said.  
They walked in the opposite direction of the Surf and Snorkel, further down the coast.  
Kara fed herself and Juice candy as they walked along, discussing the movie and how they couldn’t wait to get a proper system set up at home so they could watch their favourites together.   
“You have to see Fifth Element, it’s classic!”  
“Alright, we’ll watch Fifth Element, but yo- Jugo?”   
Juice had stopped, looking into the trees that bordered along the beach. He’d seen an opening in the palms, and felt the need to investigate, Kara following.  
Walking down the path, he found an older bungalow home nestled comfortably in the greenery a small way from the beach.  
Juice couldn’t see any other places that sat this close to the beach, but did spy a for sale sign in one of the large windows of the house.  
He walked up towards it, ascending the steps to the porch and pressing his face to the glass, looking in.   
“There’s no furniture, mustn’t be lived in.” He said.  
“Do you believe in fate, Mr Martinez?” Kara asked.  
“Considering everything that’s happened, Mrs Martinez, I’m beginning to think I’d be stupid not to.”  
He took another look, then made for the door handle. It opened, and he looked back to Kara.  
“Would you say that was fate?”  
“What if we get caught?”  
“We’re only looking, the place is empty.” Juice said, a mischievous glint in his eyes.  
“Alright, we’ll take a quick look.” Kara said, stepping inside.   
“But if we get caught, this is your fault.”  
“Ha! There’s no ‘ride or die’ with you, hey?” Juice joked.  
He stopped when Kara grabbed him by the front of the shirt, leaning up and kissing him.  
“Of course not.” She smirked Juice rolled his eyes and walked into the house.   
“I'm gonna have questions. Like where are we going? Do we have to die? Can we get food on the way?”  
Juice couldn’t see her face, but he could hear the false seriousness in her voice.  
There wasn’t a lot of light, but they could see the basic layout of the place. There was an open plan kitchen, dining and living room area, big enough to be comfortable. The kitchen had all the fixings, stove, oven, sink. There were 3 bedrooms, one significantly larger than the others. A bathroom with a shower and tub combo, toilet and sink, and another one slightly larger attached to the bigger of the 3 bedrooms.   
“All the necessities.”  
“Bigger than what we have.”  
“Right on the beach.”  
“Not far from everything, but private.”  
“We should come back and have a look in the day. Maybe with a real estate agent.” Kara said.  
“We can talk to Manny, see if he can come with us.”  
Kara turned to Juice, slipping her arms around his neck.  
“I love this place.”   
He placed his arm around her waist and pulled her close.  
“You wouldn’t wanna look at a proper house? Bigger? Closer to town or anything?” He asked.  
“Nope. I have a good feeling about this place. Unless you don’t.”  
“Looks good to me.”  
They left the house, taking one final look at it before walking back towards home.  
“What if it’s a crap shack in the light?” Kara asked.  
“Well then we look for something better.”  
“What if we can’t afford it?”  
“We’ll get a loan. We have all our papers, we’ve got a good deposit, more to come, steady jobs. We’ve gotten really good at living simply.” Juice reassured her.  
“I’m sorry, I just want this to work so badly.”  
“Hey,” Juice tilted her chin up, looking at her.  
“There’s no reason for this to not work out if we both keep doing what we’re doing and if we want it.”  
Juice truly believed it. Everything that was behind them was going to stay there. He was so determined not to keep that baggage, to leave it right there in the past where it belonged.


	24. Chapter 24

JUICE

“Make sure you grab some pasta, we’re nearly out.” Kara said, reading off her shopping list.  
Juice left her at the deli to start picking up the rest of the food they would need for the week.  
It had been a busy week, and they hadn’t really had the chance to go back to look at the beach house.  
Manny had kindly gone to the realtors and inquired of their behalf, and it looked like it had been a listing that was forgotten about. He told Juice and Kara that it seemed to belong to someone rich who had put the listing up but hadn't been bothered chasing up the realtors after it hadn’t sold.  
“You could go to the bank and get a loan, if it’s in your budget.” Manny said.   
He took them to his bank, and they spoke with the manager. They had all their paperwork, but because they had only been Diego and Kara for a short time, they had no credit ratings, good or bad. The bank wouldn’t loan them money until they had a credit score.  
Juice was worried about taking something out in his name, fake or not. He didn’t want to have to live like that, but he wanted to provide for his wife.  
“We could get a new car through a dealership, paying that off could build up a good credit rating.” Juice said.  
“By then the house might be gone. Now that someone has shown interest the realtors might have contacted the owners, and are putting more effort into selling it.”  
They’d decided, after a disappointing discussion, that they would try and come up with some alternative. If they couldn’t, Juice would buy the car and hope that the real estate stayed in their favour and held it until they could get the loan.  
Strolling up the supermarket, thinking about how much Kara wanted the house - about how much he wanted the house - he didn’t realise the man standing at the end of the aisle, watching him.  
Juice paused, registering the Scot’s face. Chibs began to walk towards him, like a stalking ghost.  
Ditching the cart, Juice bolted back to Kara, tearing her away from the deli without explanation.  
He checked over his shoulder, making sure Chibs hadn’t followed them. Leaving the store, they made it to the truck, Juice slamming into the driver’s seat.  
They pulled out, Juice constantly checking the rearview mirror.  
“They’ve found you, haven’t they? The Sons?”  
Juice stopped looking in the mirror, glancing at Kara.  
“I don’t know. I only saw one guy, Chibs. If they wanted to catch me coming out of the store, he’d have brought more. He’s not following, I can’t see him or hear a bike.”  
Kara sat silent again, knowing the seriousness of the situation.   
Juice didn’t speak to her until they got home.

“Sorry, I know I was pretty vague back there.” He said when they got in.  
“No, it’s fine, I know you were freaked out.”  
Juice sighed, slumping down onto the couch.  
“I’m sure he doesn’t know where we are, we would have seen him following us. He hasn’t approached me. You should go stay at Manny and Carmen’s, just until we figure out what he wants.”  
“What? No!”  
“Kara…” Juice said, pleading look on his face.  
“No, Juice, I’m not leaving you here alone. Like you said, he doesn’t know where we live. He can’t have been here long, I mean, he must have just heard we were in Manzanillo, he was waiting around to see if we’d be out in public and why are you looking at me like that?”  
“I might have seen him before.”  
“You saw him here before?!” Kara asked, shaking her head.  
“I didn’t know if it was him, it was when we first got together. Months back. I thought I’d seen him one day when I was picking up bike parts, but it was the quickest flash, and there’s bikers around here. I figured it was just my mind playing tricks and I never saw him again after that.”  
Kara sighed.   
“Fair enough.”   
She sat down next to him on the couch, leaning her head on his shoulder.   
“What do we do if we see him again?”  
“I honestly have no idea. I don’t think he was being hostile. I’m pretty sure he’s alone. But if he’s been down here for months, who knows what he’s doing. I think we just wait and see. Be extra careful. Phones on at all times and you call me the second anything happens.”  
Kara lifted her head, turning Juice’s to face her.  
“And you call me the second anything happens. Don’t leave me here wondering what’s happened to you.”  
“I promise, I won’t.”

That next week, Juice and Kara had been on high alert. Juice had described Chibs to her, and she’d seen his tattoo before it had been covered to know what his patch looked like. They’d message each other on the hour, checking in constantly, especially if one or the other was at home alone.   
Juice had called Manny and told him they would be staying away for a little while, to keep them safe. He promised Manny that he would keep in contact.  
There had been no sign of Chibs since that Sunday in the supermarket, and Juice had made it to Friday, feeling less anxious now that he would be finishing work for the week and home with Kara for the weekend.  
It was nearing the end of the day, Juice under the hood of the car when he heard him.  
He came out from under the hood, wiping his greasy hands on the rag over his shoulder.  
Chibs was still alone, that Juice could see, asking for him at the front desk.  
Juice nodded at his boss when he approached.  
“I’m just here to talk, Juicey.”  
“Don’t you call me that.”  
“Boy, listen to me, I don’t mean you no harm. Just wanted to come tell yeh-”  
“Tell me to put a gun to my head again? Told the prez where to find me, gained a conscience, come to tell me they’re on their way? No way. I’m not running anymore. Fuck off, Chibs.”  
Chibs let out a frustrated growl.  
“I’ll leave yeh be for now, Juice, but you’re gonna wanna hear what I got t’say.” Chibs warned, turning and walking outta the garage.  
“I highly doubt that.” Juice said, watching him go before returning to work.  
Listening to the bike pull away, he took out his phone. He sent the message to Kara, hoping she was alright at home. She would be finished with her shift, and only home for a few hours without him.

 

KARA

Kara had been home for two hours, watching a little TV while she waited for Juice to come home.  
There hadn’t been anymore sightings of Chibs, and she had been careful about walking home, keeping her phone open to Juice’s number, thumb over the “call” button in case anyone started following her.  
Her phone chimed as she stared at the TV, passing the time watching some game show.

[Chibs found me at the garage. Don’t leave the trailer, I’ll be home soon.]

“Shit.” She muttered. 

[Are you okay? Stay safe.] 

Her phone buzzed again.

[I’m fine. You stay safe too.]

Kara breathed a sigh of relief.  
Grabbing a drink of water, she checked the time. 4:30pm. Juice would be home in 45 minutes, and they would make a plan.   
Looking around her little home, she frowned, hoping they wouldn’t have to leave. She loved her little trailer, and even though they weren’t going to be there forever, she’d wondered if maybe they could buy it from Manny and take it with them.  
Taking another drink, she almost choked on the water when she registered a bike pulling up outside the trailer.   
Peering out the window, Kara saw the reaper patch, the salt and pepper hair of the man they’d been trying to avoid.  
Scampering around, she tried to find the phone. Looking on the kitchen top, the table, she spied it on the couch. Just as she made to move for it, the door came open, Chibs walking in. There was a pot sitting on the sink next to her, and she grabbed it, flinging it as hard as she could at Chibs.  
“Stop, lass.” He said, ducking the flying cookware.   
Kara frantically looked around for something else to throw.  
Damn it, Juice, why do you always put everything away? She thought to herself, making another move for the phone.  
“Don’t. It’s gonna cause more problems than need be. I’m not here to hurt no one, but if you try t’call him, I’m gonna take that phone from you. I don’t wanna hurt you, but I will if I have ta.”  
Kara paused. He sounded sincere, but some people were good with their words. She’d known all about that.   
“Come sit down. We’ll wait for Juice to get home and then we’ll talk.”  
Kara gave him the side-eye, as she slid into the booth seat Chibs gestured to.  
He sat down across from her.  
“I could scream bloody murder, ya know.”  
“I know. And I could kill you before that scream even left y’throat, love. But, like I said, I don’t want to. I don’t want Juice comin’ home to that. I need to speak with him. But until then, why don’t you tell me about y’self. How’d you meet Juice?”  
Kara sat back, her mouth forming a firm line, crossing her arms and glaring at him.  
Chibs shrugged, leaning back into the seat.  
“Alright, we’ll just sit. Just thought you’d wan’ t’pass the time a bit quicker.”  
Kara huffed. She’d hoped Juice would be home soon. There was a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that this wasn’t going to go in her favour.


	25. Chapter 25

JUICE

Angel, Juice's boss had a number of handguns in the safe, in his truck, even in his desk. He seemed to collect a new one each week.  
Angel was out at the register, collecting the day’s earnings to put into the safe, leaving the door open.  
Walking to the back to clock out, Juice noticed that several of Angel's guns were sitting on the bottom shelf of the safe.  
Juice eyed the guns, wondering how much trouble he’d be in for borrowing one. He knew that if he didn’t, there’d be even more trouble, for himself, or worse, for Kara.  
Juice bit his lip and did something he had not done since making it out if that tunnel with Kara.  
He picked up a gun.  
Selecting the Beretta 92FS, he checked that the mag was full and cocked it, loading a round into the chamber. Taking a deep breath, he slid the loaded weapon into the back of his waistband and pulled his shirt down to cover it. Leaving work, he got in the truck and got home as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself.  
Pulling up to their trailer, Juice saw the bike and panic rose in his chest.  
“KARA!” Juice bellowed, tearing out of the truck, gun loaded and in hand.  
“I’m alright!” He heard her call back as he leapt up the stairs, the door already open, to find Chibs sitting at the table with his lady.  
Juice pulled the gun on Chibs, moving to Kara’s side.  
“Baby, you okay?” He asked her, keeping his eyes on the man he once called ‘brother’.  
Looking her over, briefly, she seemed in one piece.  
“Did he hurt you?”  
Kara shook her head, casting uneasy glances in the direction of the Scot.  
“Juice, can we-” Chibs started.  
“You, shut up.” Juice said, keeping the gun trained on him.  
Chibs held his hands up in surrender, his calm demeanour never wavering.  
“Guns on the table.” Juice ordered.  
Carefully Chibs opened his kutte to reveal that there were no guns on him.  
“I told yeh, I just wanna talk.”  
“Switchblade.”  
Looking confused Chibs shook his head.  
“Boy, I don-”  
“Don’t.” Juice stopped him.  
“I know you, Chibby.” Juice seethed spitting the name.  
Sighing again, Chibs hung his head and pulled the blade from behind him and set it on the table.  
“Get up. Outside.” Juice ordered.  
Chibs obeying, got up and moved out with a heavy sigh.  
Once he was out the door, Juice set his gun down and picked up the switchblade knife putting it in his back pocket. He turned to Kara.  
“I need to you stay in here, Kara, okay?”  
Shaking her head no, he tried to calm her, grabbing her face and pressing his forehead against hers.  
“Everything is going to be fine. Okay?”  
Kara closed her eyes, clutching at his wrists.  
“I promise.” Juice said it with such belief that Kara opened her eyes, nodding, this time full of trust.  
Placing a kiss to her forehead then lips, he stood up, putting Kara’s hands in her lap and turned to follow Chibs out.

“I wouldn’t have hurt her, Juice. If I wanted to, it’d already be done. You know tha’.”  
Juice knew it when he came in and saw them sat down at the booth. It didn’t mean he believed anything good could come from Chibs being there.  
Juice motioned to the chairs that Kara had placed outside their door. Taking a seat for himself as well when Chibs took the proffered seat.  
He began playing with his ring, twisting it in his newly-formed nervous manner.  
Chibs watched him, eyeing the ring. “So, you’re married, Juicy Boy?”  
“Long story. You said you wanna talk.”  
Chibs lit a cigarette, offering one to Juice.  
Juice shook his head, wondering what his first question should be. It had been so long since he’d seen Chibs, the closest thing he had to a father figure, the closest thing he had to a friend. All of that had faded away the second that Chibs had rejected him, casting him out.  
If anyone was going to help him get right with the club, it was Chibs, and instead of trying to help, he’d sentenced Juice to death with those final words in the diner. He’d been a slave to the mad king, too.  
Sitting here with him now, Juice had to wonder if maybe the man next to him had come as friend and not foe. The only way he was going to know was if he asked.  
“Jax send you, then? Sent his VP to do the job he should have done?”  
Juice felt Chibs shift in his seat, heard him draw on the smoke before replying.  
“Juice, Jax is dead.”


	26. Chapter 26

CHIBS

Chibs saw the colour drain from Juice’s face.  
“He’s…” He watched the young man fumble for his words.  
“Aye, he’s gone. Couldn’t handle what he’d done, how much he’d hurt the club.”   
There was a hitch in his voice, but he cleared it, dragging on his cigarette again before continuing.   
“He just-” But he stopped, Juice’s hand going up, seething rage set across his face as he clenched his jaw.  
“Jax killed himself?”  
“I know it’s hard, lad, but-”  
“No. It’s not.”   
Chibs couldn’t believe what he was hearing.   
“He held my suicide attempt over my head. Baited me, promising me that I was forgiven for everything, and then used it against me over and over and over. Made me feel like a coward for how I felt, not being able to deal with what I did and then he just _TAKES HIS OWN LIFE AS THOUGH HE HAD EARNED THE RIGHT TO! AFTER EVERYTHING HE DID TO ME!! EVERYTHING HE SAID!!_ ” He screamed.  
Juice had gotten out of his seat, fists clenched, brow furrowed.  
“What are you looking for?” Chibs asked.  
“A blond, blue-eyed douchebag with a shit-eating grin to punch.”  
“Juice, please, he was trying to make it right.”  
“You think I wasn’t?” Juice’s voice was a dull roar now, but the anger hadn’t left.   
“All I ever did was try to make things right. By the time I’d gotten to Alvarez, I didn’t even know who I was anymore. The only thing I knew was that I didn’t wanna die. I didn’t rat. I didn’t tell Alvarez anything about the club expect what we knew about The Mayans, that was it. Even after all the lies and betrayal I still didn’t give info on the club. I was still trying to protect it.” Juice dragged his hands over his face, whole body shaking.   
“That fucking hypocrite.”  
Juice sat back down. Chibs watched him, waiting for him to calm before speaking again.  
“Things had been getting even worse after you’d gone. Jax had never really been right for the job. Too young. Never really knew how to do the right thing, just kept digging a deeper and deeper hole. And we all followed him down it. All us older ones share some of the blame, should have done more to teach you younger lads.  
“But I knew I wanted t’save yeh. I knew it the moment I saw yeh in the diner, when I told yeh… What I told yeh. I hadn’t said those things cause I hated yeh. I said ‘em cause I love yeh, brother. I wanted yeh to think that no one was there for yeh, that the only way to get out of it alive was to run. But after you’d gone, I kicked m’self. I regretted saying it. I saw it in yeh eyes when you got up and walked out, you’d lost all hope. I’d taken it away instead’a givin’ it to yeh. I’m sorry boy.  
Juice nodded. “I understand. You were being loyal to your Prez.”  
“That’s the problem kid. It's not about bein loyal to the prez, it's about being loyal to the club, to your brothers. I shoulda seen wha he was doin wasn't for the good of the club. It was for himself by then. I shoulda questioned it and I didn't. I failed you, but what’s done is done, and I knew that I needed to come find yeh, make right everythin’ tha’ happened.”  
“How did you find me?” Juice asked, still not looking at Chibs.  
Chibs took a deep breath and began telling him how he’d tracked Juice down to Mexico.

The club had gotten the call from Alvarez. The Mayans had taken out Juice. The rat was dead.   
The Sons met with Alvarez. He showed them the pictures, given them his kutte, assured them that their deal still stood.  
Chibs had been the one to take the his kutte. That night, back in his dorm after church, he held the kutte in his hands, crushing the leather in his fists, sobbing for the son he had lost, mourning for the club he knew was never going to come back.  
He’d done everything he thought he could in his power, but retrospect was a shady bitch, and the longer he went over and over it in his head, the more he saw the places he could have stepped in, how loyalty to someone didn’t necessarily mean following their every order.  
He knew he wasn’t entirely to blame, he had been a good soldier, but that didn’t mean he didn’t drink himself to sleep that night with the weight of what had happened or what was to come on his mind.  
Nero had been by, and they’d told him about Juice. Chibs saw the look on Nero’s face when he heard. He could have sworn he’d seen regret wash over Nero, but figured he was mistaken.  
He was wrong, though, and after Jax had taken his life, and Chibs had stepped in, Nero came to see him before leaving with Wendy and the boys.  
“Jax made him kill Darvany. He didn’t want to, but Jax made him, so he knew Juice was loyal. Kid couldn’t handle it, tried to OD, told me while he was off his face what happened.  
“He was with the Mayans, when I was there. Spoke to him while I was in there, knew I’d done the wrong thing by telling Jax that Juice had ratted to me. Wasn’t his fault. I’m sorry.”  
“Not your fault either, brother.” Chibs had said, knowing what he needed to do.  
That night, he went to see Alvarez.  
Chibs had called him after his talk with Nero. They agreed to meet at Alvarez’ place.  
Knocking on the door, Chibs allowed Alvarez to pat him down, having left his piece in this bike. He’d covered his kutte as well, a show of good faith that he wasn’t there for club business.   
“Marcus, I gotta know, is Juice dead?”  
Alvarez considered Chibs, looking him square in the eye.   
Chibs could see Alvarez was fighting with himself, looking at the older man before him, who hadn’t come as a rival club president, but a man looking for answers about his family.  
“I got him out to Mexico. I don’t know where he went, only that he managed to get away from the the smugglers who were taking him through a tunnel across the border. I gave him new papers, goes by Diego Martinez, now. That’s all I can say.”  
A knot in Chibs’ heart untwisted. “What did he tell yeh to stop you handin’ him over?”  
This time, Alvarez chuckled.   
“Now that, I can’t tell you. Just know that it’s nothing that will hurt the Sons.”  
Chibs nodded, knowing that was the best answer he could have expected.   
“Thank you. I won’ forget this.”  
Alvarez nodded, shaking his hand. “I hope you’ll be a better prez than Teller.”  
“We’ll talk soon.”   
Chibs left the Mayan president’s house, head filled with possibilities. All the new information he’d been given had reinforced the idea that he had to bring Juice home.

He called his men to chapel, laying out all the new intel on Juice that Alvarez and Nero had told him.  
“I want to go find him. Bring him back where he belongs.” Chibs said, seated at the head of the table.  
“Can’t all go. The kid’ll freak if he sees us all.” Tig said.   
Happy murmured his agreeance.  
“What if he doesn’t wanna come back?” He asked.  
“Then I’ll leave him be. He’ll be out of the life. We leave him be.”   
The brothers took a few minutes to decide their vote.  
“I propose that I go to Mexico, locate Juice and tell him what’s happened, and give him the option to come home.” Chibs brought the proposition to the table.   
“All those in favour, say ‘aye’.”  
“Aye.” Came from around the table.  
Chibs brought the gavel down, dismissing church and packing for his trip.

When he’d finished, Chibs saw Juice’s eyes fall on his patch. He couldn’t tell if it was a longing in his eyes, or just disbelief.  
“You’re the new prez.” Juice said.  
“Aye.” Chibs said, patting at the patch over his chest.  
“It’s just me, Tig and Hap, plus the patch overs.”  
“Bobby?”  
Chibs hung his head, still not over the loss of his brother.   
“Marks got him. But Marks is taken care of.”  
Chibs looked up to see the tears streaking down Juice’s face. His own eyes pricked with tears, and he rubbed them with the heel of his palm as Juice wiped away his own.  
“Was that you I saw a few months back?”  
“Aye. When I’d first tracked you down. I got over the border with a fake passport, showed a photo of yeh around Tijuana, got a lead, started following it. Yeh were good, lad, kept yourself hidden well. Took me a long while to catch up with yeh, only ‘cause you stopped here that I did.”  
“Why didn’t you come see me then?” Juice asked.  
“I’d called the boys and told them I’d found you. Had to get back to deal with club business, but figured since yeh hadn’t moved from here in a while you weren’t makin’ any plans to. Went back to Charming, sorted out the issues and came back down. An’ here we are.”   
Juice was shocked into silence by all the information. Chibs knew it would be a lot to take in.  
Getting up from his seat, he went to his bike.  
“I’m sorry, for speaking to you the way I did.” Juice said.  
Chibs turned back to him, a large envelope in his hand.   
“No need, brother. Understandable, under the circumstances.” Chibs replied, tossing the envelope to Juice.  
Juice caught it, opening it, eyes wide. “What’s this?” He asked.  
“Yeh money, from yeh weed shop. Got it out for you.”  
“Thanks.”  
“S’alright, brother. Got sumin’ else for yeh, too.”


	27. Chapter 27

KARA

Hiding behind the curtain, Kara had sat herself on the counter, trying to listen to the conversation from the barely-open window. She’d barely caught any of it, but from the lack of yelling and Juice punching the older man, she assumed that Juice was letting Chibs explain himself.  
She gasped when she saw Chibs throw something towards Juice, and her stomach knotted.  
Peering through the gap between the curtain and the wall, she could just make out the back of Juice and Chibs standing before him. She waited, trying to read Juice’s body language.  
Chibs had just given Juice an envelope full of money. But that hadn’t caused Kara to gasp.  
The Sons of Anarchy kutte, emblazoned with the reaper patch, along with the welcoming look on Chibs’ face made her lean closer, straining to hear.  
There it was, the thing she was most terrified of.  
Dangled in front of him was Juice’s old life coming back, either to take him from her eternally or just back to the life he now claimed to hate.  
Kara didn’t care which outcome, really, because both saw her shattered and left behind once again by the man she loved.  
This time, she couldn’t come back from it. Because this time, she knew the love was reciprocated. Kara knew Juice loved her the same, and while she couldn’t deny it, she knew of the things he longed for, and how hard it was to kick something, even when you knew it was wrong for you.  
Juice knew the Sons life. Going back, he’d know his place, he’d know what to expect. He’d have a permanent home, a club that loved him like they should have done long ago.  
As much as they wanted to be together, they had no idea what was going to happen, where they were going to live, whether they would work.  
The small voice of reason in her head told her that Juice wouldn’t have worked so hard for the life they had if he didn’t want it. That he would have snatched the kutte out of Chibs’ hands and ran right back to the life he’d left if he wasn’t serious about her.  
But the gnawing in her stomach told her that he was tempted, that he was going to leave, that he was going to turn his back on her and walk out.  
“I meant it when I said it, brother. We want yeh to come home.” Chibs voice was muffled, but there was no denying what he’d said.  
Juice said nothing, but the nausea she felt saw Kara coming down from the countertop, breathing deeply, keeping the sickness at bay, gripping the table to steady herself.  
He’s gonna say yes. How could he not? She thought as she willed herself not to cry.  
_I’ve gotta be okay with this. I gotta do this for him. He’s done so much for me, I gotta do this one thing._  
Sliding the ring off her finger, Kara placed in on the table. Walking into the bedroom, she pulling out Juice’s backpack, not used since their arrival in Manzanillo.  
Carefully, she began pulling out his clothes, setting them neatly in the bag. But the reality of the situation set in, and she began shoving them into the bag, wildly pulling more clothes out of his draws, some flying about the room.  
Grabbing her own bag, she flew about tossing her books from the shelves that Juice had so precisely built for her, some hitting the bed, some hitting the floor.  
Opening the bathroom door with as much force as she could muster, Kara pulled their toothbrushes, soaps, hair products from the sink and medicine cabinet, throwing them into the bedroom, slamming all the doors again on the way out.  
She didn’t hear him come in, but the low, sweet voice of Juice stopped her in her tracks.  
“Babe, what’re you doing?”

JUICE

Mouth gaping, Juice stared at the kutte.  
If someone had said to Juice, _What do you think will be more likely to happen; you becoming a lone sheep herder in Iceland or you being told you can go back to your club?_ , Juice would have punched the person and picked option A.  
Chibs had said he’d come to bring him home, but the kutte and promise of his old life that he’d been working so hard to keep before going to Alvarez suspended before him caught him off guard.  
Juice took a moment, considering this option. But the more he thought about it, the more he felt in the deepest part of him, that it wasn’t an option. The moment he began to feel at home in Manzanillo, the moment he’d been taken in - accepted - by his new family, the moment he’d considered Kara as more than just his wife on paper, that option had become obsolete.  
He looked at Chibs, seeing the hopefulness in his eyes. It made his heart sore to do it, especially with everything that Chibs had just shared with him, but he shook his head, a small, pitying smile on his face.  
Chibs’ grin fell from his face, disbelief replacing it. He put his arms down, grasping the kutte in one hand, the other rubbing over his face. “Juicy Boy, you can come home.”  
“I’m sorry, Chibs, but that’s not home anymore. That’s not my life anymore.” Juice extended his arm out to him, showing him his new tattoo, the old one completely blacked out.  
“If this is abou’ the lass, she’d be welcome to come. She’d be protected. We’d be as much her family as we are yours.”  
Juice sighed, not wanting to hurt the man any more than he’d already had to.  
“She can’t go back there. Stockton was her home, but she can’t go back. And I won’t go anywhere she can’t be.” Juice stood up, putting a hand on the shoulder of his old friend.  
“I’ll always love you, Chibby. But, me and Kara, we got a life down here. We got family down here now, good people who have taken us in and given us more than we deserve but everything we need. I don’t want to not ever see you guys again. I don’t want to be excommunicated. But life in Charming? Club life? That’s done.”  
Chibs sighed, shoulders slouching.  
“Okay, brother. I’m sorry things couldn’t have been different.” Chibs said, and pulled Juice in for a hug.  
“It’s what it is, brother. But I’m happy.”  
“Then I’m happy for you, kid.”  
Juice clapped him on the back and they pulled away.  
Chibs gave Juice the kutte, Juice shaking his head.  
“No, I don’t mean it like tha’. Yeh should have it, though, it’s yours and never should have been taken from you in the first place. It belongs with you.”  
“Thank you.” Juice held it in his hands. Instead of it feeling weighty with reminders of all the things he’d done while wearing it, the vest was a reminder of everything he’d given to and for the club. It wasn’t a judgement of his worth anymore. It was a milestone, a marker of a point in time where he’d lost everything he had and gained everything he never knew he needed.  
“Got yourself a bike, I see.” Chibs said, pointing at the half-recovered Triumph.  
“Yeah, Kara bought it for me. Not everything’s changed.”  
Chibs huffed out a laugh, putting his arm around Juice’s shoulders.  
“I’ll be staying in town a few more days. We should catch up, you can tell me all about that lady of yours.”  
Juice heard the banging and thumping coming from inside the trailer.  
“Yeah, let’s do that. I should get inside, see how she’s doing.”  
Chibs nodded. “I’ll come by in a couple of days.”  
“Look forward to it. Here.”   
He handed back the knife, and with one last clap to the shoulder, Chibs turned, getting on his bike and riding off.


	28. Chapter 28

JUICE

Juice watched him go, before a large crash brought him back.  
Envelope and and kutte in hand, Juice walked into the trailer to find Kara throwing their belongings at the bed, things bouncing off in all directions.  
Her behaviour concerned him, even moreso when he saw the ring on the table. He picked it up, moving towards her.  
“Babe, what’re you doing?”  
Kara paused, and Juice saw her body relaxing for a moment.  
She looked over her shoulder at him. He noticed the worry in her face. The worry soon turned to resentment when he saw what she was looking at.  
She’d spotted the kutte, looking at it with complete disgust for it and all it represented, going back to her furious redecoration. Juice cocked his head to the side, knowing full well what she was thinking.  
He tossed the kutte and envelope on the table, the ring pressed hard against the palm of his hand. “Kara?”  
“It’s fine. I get it. You should go. You got your happy ending, you deserve it.”  
Juice could tell she was trying so hard to be sincere, but the venom was dripping from her mouth with every word.  
He couldn’t help but smirk.  
“Babe, I know you said all those months ago that you wanted to redecorate, but this isn’t really what I thought you’d meant.”  
Kara paused again, but her fists were balled and Juice had a feeling that she was trying to stop herself from throwing something at him.  
“Juice, now really it’s the time to be a smartass. I’m-”  
Juice smiled up at her from down on one knee. He held the ring out to her, and she stopped in her tracks, eyes wide, a hand to her lips.  
“I love you, Kara. I meant it the first time I said it. I've meant it every time I’ve said it since. I’ll mean it every time after, it until the day I die.”  
Kara breathed out a ragged laugh.  
“Yeah, well I can’t seem to deal with the idea of you leaving, so I get to go first.” She said, her voice thick with emotion.  
“Anything you want, _princesa_.” Juice smiled, a lump forming in his throat.  
“Marry me, Kara. For real this time.”  
Juice had barely finished asking before Kara had knelt down on the floor in front of him, tears streaming down her face, her smile so bright he couldn’t ever question her answer.  
He kissed her, stopping only to place the ring back on her finger, before resuming.  
“You gonna tell me what happened out there?”  
Juice nodded, getting up from the floor and sitting on the couch, Kara sitting next to him.  
He told her everything that Chibs had said, and she listened patiently.  
When he was done, Kara got up, picking up the envelope and kutte. She brought them back over to the couch. “So, what does this mean?”  
“Chibs gave it to me. Not to wear, just to have, memories and all that.”  
“You gonna keep it?” Kara asked, holding it up and examining it.  
“I think so. I'm not going back to being a Son, but there were some good times, in the beginning. Don’t wanna forget everything.”  
“I understand.”  
Juice folded the kutte, laying it over the arm of the couch.  
“Now this,” he said, opening up the envelope. “Would be more than enough to pay for that bungalow. If you still want it, that is.”  
Juice smiled as she held the envelope as though it contained all her hopes and dreams. He took her hand and kissed the ring he’d given her, not out of necessity this time, but because he truly believed the only good life he could have was with Kara as his wife.  
“We should tell Manny and Carmen. Oh my God, Abuela is gonna flip.” Kara chuckled.  
“After.” Juice replied.  
“After what?”  
Juice stood up bringing Kara with him. He lifted her up over his shoulder, landing his hand on her ass cheek next to his face.  
“Oooh.” She giggled, squealing as Juice threw her down onto their bed.

KARA

Gloria had been in full wedding planner mode since Kara and Juice called to tell them about the engagement, and Kara couldn’t be happier.  
Manny and Carmen insisted on hosting a small engagement dinner, requesting that Juice invite Chibs to come along. Everyone, including Kara, was keen to get to know the man that Juice had seen as a father figure during his time in Charming.  
They ate, talked, laughed, and Kara felt full at the sight of her rapidly growing family sitting at the table together, celebrating the union that had brought them all together.  
After their meal, the men went outside to look at Manny’s bikes and cars in the garage, the women sitting on the patio drinking their signature mojitos.  
“Now that he’ll be married for real, you’re gonna have to stop grabbing Jugo’s butt.” Kara joked.  
“ _Eso está bien, Chibs lo hará._ (That’s fine, Chibs will do.)”  
Kara and Carmen laughed, before Carmen stood, gesturing them to follow her inside.  
Walking through the house to Gloria’s bedroom, Carmen told Kara to sit on the bed.  
Kara watched as the two women stood before the wardrobe, both looking like excitable puppies. “Now, sweetheart, we know you and Jugo haven’t decided on anything yet, but we thought that, if you wanted, we could help you with some wedding plans.”  
“Of course!” Kara said, being enthusiastic to start the organisation process as soon as possible.  
“Well, and you don’t have to, but we thought you might-”  
“ _Apúrate por favor!_ (Hurry up please!)” Gloria interjected, becoming impatient.  
Carmen rolled her eyes and opened the doors to the wardrobe, stepping aside to let Kara see a dress hanging on the back of the door.  
Kara gasped audibly, the sight causing tears to well.  
“Oh, it’s gorgeous.”  
“Do you want to try it on?” Carmen asked.  
Kara could only nod.  
She was left in the room to change, quickly stripping down to her underwear, but taking a full five minutes staring at the dress. Kara wasn’t scared of it, or what it represented, but the idea that she was getting married hit her like a coal train.  
Months before, being married wasn’t even a thought, compared to surviving. Kara hadn’t appreciated what she had, growing up a rich girl with no thought of consequences to her actions. And those consequences upended her life in ways she didn’t think possible.  
But Kara had grown up a lot in the last year, and for that, she was being rewarded with the life she not only needed, but now wanted.  
Slipping the dress off it’s hook, it was deceivingly light, despite its layers. As she adjusted the dress over her body, she smoothed the fabric over her stomach before looking in the full length mirror on the door of the wardrobe.  
The dress fit firmly across her chest and stomach, falling straight down from her hips. It was made of white linen, with a layer of detailed, crocheted lace over the top, the bottom of the dress finishing at the floor, pooling in a small, circular train at the back.  
The top was a straight across, off the shoulder design made of crocheted lace, resting at elbow length. Such a simple dress, but Kara couldn’t imagine anything better.  
Her imagination ran wild, seeing herself coming from out of the trees near the shack, walking down onto the beach towards Juice.  
There was a knock on the door, and Kara had to leave her wedding daydreams for later as Carmen called and asked if they could come in. Kara turned as the women came back into the room, grinning at the looks on their face.  
“ _Hermosa chica._ (Beautiful girl).” Gloria said, Carmen nodding and crying.  
“This was Abuela’s wedding dress, then mine, and now it’s yours.”  
Kara was touched. She’d never been so proud to be someone’s daughter.  
“Thank you both, so much.” Kara hugged them both.  
“Hey, what are you ladies doing?”  
Kara’s eyes went wide, looking down at the dress, hearing Juice coming up the hallway.  
“No!” All three women called out.  
“Huh?”  
Gloria got to the door before Juice could come in, tutting at him and shooing him away.  
“No, no looking, you have to wait.”  
“Abuela! I’m going, I’m going, no need to push!” Juice said, Kara hearing his footsteps fading away.  
“I should get changed so we can get back out there. But really, I can’t tell you how excited I am to wear this, it’s beautiful.”  
“It looks beautiful on you. Just lay it out on the bed when you’re done, we’ll keep it here, away from prying eyes.” Carmen said, leaving Kara to change.


	29. Chapter 29

KARA

“So, I was thinking. We should get married, on the beach in front of the house.” Kara said, laying in bed, waiting for Juice to finish brushing his teeth.  
“Yeah? It’d be quiet, we could have the reception on the beach too, or up at the house.”  
“Oh that’d be great! Do you know when you wanna do all this?”  
Juice came into the bedroom and Kara shuffled over to him when he got into bed.  
“I was thinking next month.”  
Kara was shocked. “Seriously?”  
Juice shrugged. “Yeah, why not?”  
“I just mean, that’s not a lot of time.”  
“Well, we’re already technically married, so we don’t need to do anything legal, just all the fun stuff that comes with the wedding. I spoke to Manny, he said he’d come with us tomorrow after work to the realtors and sort out buying the house. Gives us plenty of time to move in and set everything up.”  
Kara sat up, resting on her elbows.   
“Wow, you’ve really put a lot of thought into this. I mean, I feel like we haven’t had a moment to talk about this since it happened!”  
“I have a few hours to spare every morning when you’re still sleeping.”   
Kara playfully smacked him on his arm and he chuckled.   
“It’s been crazy, but I was talking with Chibs and Manny. We don’t just talk about cars and bikes, ya know.”  
Kara smiled at him.   
“So Chibs can come? I want him there, we could wait if he needed to get back to Charming and sort things out.”  
“He said things are going okay there, for now. He needs to get back up there tomorrow, but he thinks he and the other guys can get down here next month. That’s okay, me having a few of my old club members come along?”  
Kara placed a hand to his cheek.   
“Of course it is. I’ll invite some people from work, like Andrew, he’d love to be there.”  
“Ha-ha.” Juice replied sarcastically.  
“I don’t care that there will only be a few of us there. I only want people who mean something to us, and I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d want.”   
Juice smiled back at her, pulling Kara close to him.  
She loved the way he smelt. The mixture of peppermint from his toothpaste, his deodorant and a scent that was just so purely Juice, she couldn’t pin it to anything in particular but him. Being held by him, close to his chest, was her favourite place to be.

JUICE

“Are you serious?”   
It was two days out from the wedding. Juice and Kara had bought the bungalow, moved in, and whenever they weren’t working, they planned for the wedding.  
Juice had kept in contact with Chibs after he’d gone back to Charming. The Sons were to come down to Manzanillo for the wedding, and when they arrived a few days before the big day, Juice was filled with so many mixed emotions.  
He embraced each of his brothers, glad to see them again, and they grieved together for the members lost.   
But the real shock came when the men unveiled Juice’s bike. It was nearly as he remembered it, with the small exception of the club memorabilia removed. Replacing it was pinstriped waves, painted by Happy in vibrant blues on either side of the tank.  
“Thought you might like this back.” Tig said, smiling at Juice.  
“Thank you, so much.” Juice said, unable to take his eyes off the Harley.  
“Does this mean you’re gonna fix up the Triumph for me so we can go cruisin’ together?” Kara joked, and Juice pulled her close to his side.  
“You’d better believe it, baby.”  
“Well don’t stand around looking at it, get on it!”  
Juice looked to Kara.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Go ride with your friends! You’ve got a bachelor party to get to!”  
“What about you, though? I can’t just go out while you stay here and set up.”  
Kara took both of his hands in hers.  
“Of course you can. I want you to. Plus, Carmen just made up a big batch of mojitos, and you know how handsie Abuela gets when she’s had a few. This is for your own safety.”  
Juice chuckled, looking to the guys, all grinning at him. He moved towards the bike, straddling over it, the feeling akin to coming home after being away.  
The engine rumbled to life underneath him, and he bit his lip, willing himself not to cry.  
The roar behind him from the other’s bikes signalled to him that they were ready to go, and Kara appeared at his side once again. She leant up against his side, speaking into his ear over the noise.  
“Have fun, be safe. And no matter what Tig says, no strippers or hookers.” Kara said.  
Juice pulled back, smiling before replying.  
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He kissed her, and she stepped back as he revved the engine, taking off up the driveway before breaking out onto the road.  
Chibs, Happy, Tig, Ratboy and Quinn followed him out, and they rode through the streets until they hit the highway.

Juice took a deep breath, cherishing the slipstream pushing against him as he accelerated. The feeling was unrivalled, the freedom, the movement, the potential danger. It was a rush that lasted from the moment the motor kicked over until it was shut off again, and Juice embraced it like a friend he’d loved and never forgotten.  
He couldn’t wait to take Kara out.  
They hit up a bar, kicking back and talking only about the good times. Drinking beer and shooting pool for a while, Juice was keen to go for a ride again before they turned and headed home.  
It was barely midnight when they got to the shack, so they broke out some more booze and sat on patio chairs on the ground in front of the house.  
Manny, Carmen and Gloria had long gone home, and Kara was asleep in bed when Juice poked his head around the door of their bedroom to check on her.  
Closing the door and leaving her to sleep, Juice joined the men back outside.  
Kara came out a little while after.  
“Sorry doll, did we wake you?” Tig asked.   
“No, you guys are fine, just woke up and thought I’d come see how you all were doing. Want me to cook you guys anything up? Soak up some of that?” She jokingly remarked, pointing at the empty beer bottles sitting by their chairs.  
“We’re good babe, you get back to bed, I’ll be in soon.” Juice said, a tipsy look of love across his glazed eyes.  
“I’ve set you guys up in the spare bedrooms. There’s a couple of beds and some blow up mattresses.”  
The guys thanked her and she walked back to the house, Juice watching her go in one of his shirts and a pair of pyjama shorts.  
As fun as the night had been, he was looking forward to crawling into bed with her.   
“She’s a good woman.” Chibs had leant over while the others were speaking.  
“Yeah, she really is.” Juice said, not having taken his eyes off the door from where she’d just gone back inside.  
“I’m really proud of yeh, yeh know. Glad I get t’witness you marrying your girl, Juicy Boy.”  
“Aw Chibby, don’t get too soft on me now.” Juice said, grinning at his old friend.   
Chibs clapped him on the arm, and they all drank and talked a little while longer before Chibs called it a night, everyone else following suit.

Hitting the light switch in the hall after everyone had gone to their rooms, he snuck quietly into his room, closing the door and sneaking over to the bed.   
Kara lay on her back, one arm across her stomach, legs splayed apart. She’d removed her shorts, leaving only Juice’s shirt and her cotton underwear on.  
Juice got an idea in his head, one that he knew might turn out to be a bad one with five other people in the house, but he was feeling so intoxicated, not by the beer he’d drunk but by the joy he felt in his heart.  
Crawling onto the bed as carefully as he could, Juice knelt between her legs, lowering himself down and spreading them a little further. He lay down on his stomach, slowly hooking her legs over his shoulders.  
Kara rolled her head from one side to the other adjusting herself slightly. Juice waited until she settled again before making the next move.  
Touching his lips to her inner thighs, he worked his way up until he was at her centre. The fabric of her underwear was thin.   
Using the tip of his tongue, Juice ran the length of her, gently, feeling her folds part slightly as she shifted under his touch.  
Kara began to sigh, stirring somewhat.   
Juice pressed the flat of his tongue against her, the cotton dampened by his mouth and the excitement he was bringing from her. When he reached her clit, he swirled his tongue over it. Repeating this motion, he alternated from tip to the whole tongue, coaxing a low moan from Kara.  
She reached down, still half asleep, running her hand over his head, encouraging him onwards.  
Juice had enough of teasing, feeling himself harden against the mattress. Grasping the side of the panties between his hands, he yanked, tearing the fabric in two. He pulled aside the torn fabric, revealing her core to him.  
Kara had awoke at the sudden act, but before she could register what was happening, Juice dipped his head back between her legs, continuing what he began there.  
Upon hearing her begin to moan audibly, Juice felt his own excitement building more. He became more exaggerated in his movements, the friction of himself grinding between his stomach and the bed doing nothing to extinguish his desire to keep her satisfied.   
Kara’s groans were becoming more discernible, and Juice couldn’t wait any longer. Moving away, he made quick motions to remove his clothes.  
Easing his body down onto hers, Juice wasted no time, positioning himself outside of her entrance.   
Kara draped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer towards her.   
He kissed her, clasping his hand around the back of her thigh, pulling it up and hooking it over his hip, Kara resting the other leg over his other side.  
Keeping hold of her thigh, he slid inside of her, causing her to let out a cry of gratification, and Juice could barely contain his own.  
He leant down, kissing her briefly, pulling back in the darkness. Hearing her panting, feeling the heat of her breath against his cheek, he whispered to her.   
“Sshh…”  
Kara clenched around him, aroused by his hushed dominance. He jerked at the sensation, slipping himself back out and rolling his hips, pushing back in again.   
Juice moved back and forth in smooth, long strokes, the gasps and hitches in his breathing mixing with hers in near-silent bliss. He could just make Kara’s face from the fragments of moonlight shining through the gaps in their blinds.  
Eyes heavily lidded, lips parted, she was beautiful. Juice flicked his tongue over her top lip, sucking lightly at the bottom one, caressing her leg, her side, her breast, making her buck in want and frustration.  
It was slow, almost torturous, to be restrained when all they wanted was to be unrestricted; made to walk when the urge to run scratched at their every nerve.  
The passion was beginning to take over the rationality, and Juice’s strokes became shorter and harder, thrusting deep and grinding himself against her clit. Picking up the pace, the coil in his abdomen tightened as he began to come undone.  
Kara began to whimper, locking her legs behind his ass, keeping him as close to her as she could. He didn’t resist, keeping his rocking shallow and firm, rubbing against her until he couldn’t hold back anymore.  
Juice’s body slammed against Kara’s, release washing over him. Looking down, he saw Kara’s hand gripping the sheet, knuckles white, her head thrown back. He continued to rock against her as she rode out her high.  
Laying down next to her, Juice pulled her close, holding her tight against him. Kara shivered, and Juice leant down, pulling the blanket up and over them.   
“You okay, baby?”  
“Oh yeah, I’m fine. Slow sex is just underrated.” She whispered back, nestling her head against his chest.   
Juice smiled, running his fingers through her hair.  
“I can’t wait to marry you.”  
“I can’t wait to marry you, too.” Juice closed his eyes, slumber winning out over his excitement.


	30. Chapter 30

JUICE

“Jugo, wake up. Jugo.” Juice roused to the gentle shaking of his arm, the sound of Manny calling him out of his dream.  
“What’s up, Manny?” Juice rubbed his eyes, looking at the clock on the bedside table. It was close to midday.  
“Time to get up, gotta get ready for the big day.” Manny beamed down at Juice, and the reality set in.  
He was getting married to Kara in a few hours.  
Jumping up out of bed, he pulled Manny into a big hug, the older man returning it.  
“The other guys are outside, go join them for some food, son.”  
“Thanks, Pops.” Juice walked out of the guest room he was staying in.  
Everyone had worked really hard the day before, getting the last minute things sorted for the wedding.  
The boys had all gone back to Manny’s when they were done, sitting around and enjoying the time they had together, so short, but cherished, before they needed to head back to California.  
Carmen and Gloria stayed with Kara at the bungalow overnight, where they would get ready.  
Manny had cooked them up a hearty meal, Juice smelling the fragrant spices as he walked out to the back patio, his friends seated around the table waiting for him.  
They cheered when he came outside, and Juice took a seat between Manny and Chibs.  
“Yeh nervous, lad?” Chibs asked as they ate.  
“Honestly, not at all. I love her. I want this.”  
Juice felt at his ring finger, bare under his touch. He’d given the rings to Chibs, both his and Kara’s, and even though it was only off for less than a day, he couldn’t wait until Kara slid it back to where it belonged.  
“I’m glad for yeh, brother.”  
“He’s made a great husband so far, he’ll only get better.” Manny said, a hand squeezing Juice’s shoulder.  
“Well, if you really mess up, there’s always a dorm room for you back in Charming.” Tig said.  
Juice laughed, shaking his head.  
“Thanks for the sentiment, bro.”

Juice straddled his bike, revving a few times.  
“Come on, guys! Let’s go!”  
“Keep you hair on, we’re coming!” Happy called out, smiling at his eager friend.   
“Can't.” Juice said lifting his helmet to reveal his freshly shaved head. Mohawk and all giving light to the tribal tattoos that had been too long hidden.  
The brothers the cheered the return of _their_ Juice and rode off, Manny having left a short while before to make sure everything was ready and to see Kara.  
Juice was antsy, all he wanted was to finally see her walking towards him. He had gotten ready, pacing about, waiting for everyone else, keen to get moving.   
The men pulled up outside of Juice and Kara’s house.   
Juice took off his boots, leaving them by his bike. It took every ounce of willpower to not run inside and see her, but Juice kept walking, not even looking up at the house, through the setup for the reception. There was too much temptation.  
Stepping onto the beach, Juice rolled up the legs of his tan pants, adjusting the white button down shirt, leaving it untucked and rolling up his sleeves, pushing them just over his elbows.  
They’d decided to keep the wedding casual, simple being their way. The other guys had worn clean jeans, button down shirts and their kuttes, Manny opting for the same.  
Juice and Chibs had taken their places at the archway that Juice and Manny had built, mangrove branches draped across the flat top, cascading down the sides.   
The Sons took seats on Juice’s side, Manny, Carmen and Gloria to take seats on Kara’s side.  
It was late afternoon when everyone was in their place. Ratboy had offered to take some photos for them, which Juice and Kara had happily accepted.  
Juice had hooked a small set of speakers up, and Chibs checked his watch before hitting play on the iPod connected to them.  
Looking to Chibs, Juice’s face was full of joy.  
“It’s time, lad.” The older man grinned back.  
Juice turned to the pathway in the lush greenery, nothing drawing his attention away.  
Gloria emerged first, taking steps down the sand towards them. Happy walked over to her, offering her his arm so she wouldn’t stumble.  
Juice chuckled a little at the happiness on Abuela’s face, both caused by the wedding and the younger man escorting her.  
Carmen followed, looking stunning in a coral dress that made her striking features stand out all the more. Juice grinned at her and she beamed back. Tig escorted her, and they stood in front of their seats, all waiting for Kara to make her entrance.  
The suspense was killing Juice, but he stood stock still as Kara came into view, arm in arm with a proud Manny.  
Juice’s jaw dropped, taking it all in as she came towards him. The dress he knew to be Gloria and Carmen’s. But the way she wore it, the way it flattered her every inch, he knew this dress was meant for Kara.  
Her hair was pulled back into a low bun, a few strands pulled out around her face to frame it. A lick of eyeliner and mascara accentuated her eyes, and atop her head sat a crown of dahlia’s.  
He’d finally grasped the full picture. She was stunning, and Juice couldn’t contain it anymore, the love and emotion he had was overwhelming.  
Juice’s eyes welled up, blurring his vision, and he gulped, the lump forming in his throat threatening to make him explode. He blinked, not wanting to miss it. Taking a deep breath, he brought his hands up to his face, wiping them down his eyes, steepling them in front of his mouth. The smile spread across his face, his cheeks already hurting, but he didn’t care.  
Kara had the same smile across her face, and when she and Manny stopped before Juice at the altar, he could see her eyes had tears in them, and she bit her lip gently to stop it from quivering.  
Manny hugged her, embracing Juice before taking his seat next to his wife.  
“You look incredible.” Juice said, loud enough so that only Kara could hear as he took her hands in his. She squeezed his hands back as Chibs began the ceremony.  
“Juice an’ Kara had a different start to marriage than most. But life doesn’t come with no handbook, and against all the odds, these two found each other, and made it work together. I’m proud t’be here t’witness it, an’ I know they’re both itchin’ to get this happenin’, so I’ll not harp on.”  
They all chuckled, and Chibs proceeded to ask the couple if they’d take each other to be their unlawfully wedded partners.  
“I do.” Juice said, sliding the ring on to Kara’s finger, rounding up the vows. Or so he’d thought.   
There was shuffling amongst the bikers, and Juice looked over at them.  
They gave him a look as if to say he hadn’t quite finished.   
Juice gave them a questioning stare.  
“Aaaaaaaand?” Tig drawled, cheeky grin on his face.  
It clicked. Juice knew exactly what they expected. He shot them all daggers, huffed out a laugh and glanced at Kara, an amused but confused look on her face.  
“I’m so sorry, it’s Sons wedding tradition.” Juice whispered, pleading look on his face.  
He threw a look at Chibs before locking eyes with Kara.   
“I promise to treat you as good as my leather-”  
“ _AND RIDE YOU AS MUCH AS MY HARLEY!_ ” All the Sons joined in with Juice.  
Kara erupted with laughter, throwing her head back cackling.  
“Amen!” cried Gloria.  
“ _MaMa!!_ ” shrieked Carmen, and the whole wedding party were lost at that point.  
It took a good minute for the crowd to calm down.  
“An’ with all that said an’ done, I know pronounce you husband an’ wife, you may now kiss your bride.”  
Wrapping one arm around her waist and sliding his other hand around the back of her neck, Juice brought his lips down onto Kara’s to the sound of cheering and clapping.  
Kara gripped the front of Juice’s shirt, as he dipped her back, not parting from her until he stood her back up.   
She giggled as Juice beamed down at her, before she tugged him back in for another quick kiss.  
“Congrats Mr and Mrs Ortiz, now let’s go party!” Manny said to the approval of everyone.

“That was the best wedding I’ve ever been to.” Juice said as he snuggled up next to Kara in bed later that night.  
“It really was. People pay thousands of dollars on these big parties, and I would bet everything that they don’t have anywhere near as much fun as we did.” Kara agreed.  
“I hear that. But then again, no one got to marry you but me, so that’s a loss for them before they even got started.” Juice replied.  
The reception had started just as the ceremony had finished. They all took enough pictures to keep the memories alive, and just as the sun set, the party began.  
A large table had been set, the food they had all prepped over the last two days was laid out on it. Everyone sat around the table, passing their plates around, feasting and drinking, going from merry to merrier.  
A small dance floor had been made from slats of wood, and after dinner, Juice and Kara danced together, completely wrapped up in each other.  
The party jams started pumping out, and everyone began to cut loose.   
At one point, while Kara danced with Chibs, Juice spotted Abuela with her hands on Tig’s backside, dancing, Tig looking rather pleased with the situation.  
Juice, grabbing a beer, walked over to Chibs, tapping his shoulder.   
“Brother, you gotta break that up. You know what happens to the latina ladies when Tig gets around them.” Juice joked.  
“Aye, I warned him before we got down here. I’ll go check on him.” Chibs said, grabbing the beer from Juice’s hand.  
“Tiggy Boy! Best keep yeh hands where I can see ‘em, it’s my turn next!”  
Juice happily took Kara’s hand, spinning her around before bringing her close. “You happy?” he asked her.  
“I don’t have the words to say how happy I am.”  
“Too many mojitos?”   
Kara poked her tongue out at Juice.   
“I know what you mean.” Juice said.  
“I love you, Juice.”  
“I love you too, Kara.”


	31. Chapter 31

EPILOGUE

Juice had always heard that a wedding day was the happiest day of someone’s life. He had a feeling it might be true, and on the day that he celebrated his union to Kara, he believed it.   
But it wasn’t until the day that he found out that Kara was pregnant which their first baby, and the day that Carlos Manuel Ortiz arrived in the world, did he know that it wasn’t true. Because it was his favourite day, along with all the days that followed.  
Even though there were seasons of darkness in his life, there were days, weeks, months where he found himself forgetting that they even existed. His wedding day and the days following were such a time.  
Being in the room, holding Kara’s hand while she pushed through the 216th contraction, doing everything he could to comfort and encourage her as she brought their son into the world, holding his baby and thinking that there could be nothing more precious in his life.  
Juice never thought a heart could be so full, capable of loving anyone as much as he loved Kara. He wanted children, badly, but he was worried that all his love was spent on his wife. But holding that little boy, completely captivated by him, his heart expanded with enough love for the both of them, and his extended family.  
All his waking moments were spent with his family, and he was so thankful for Manny, Carmen and Abuela.  
Chibs joined them a few years later, having established The Sons. He retired to Manzanillo, taking up residence in Juice and Kara’s old airstream trailer that they’d bought along to the bungalow.  
Juice doted on his son, and his heart was stretched further by the announcement of Kara carrying twins nearly two years later.  
Carmen Elena and Sofia Gloria were welcomed into the world, and Abuela nearly moved into the trailer with Chibs, so she could be close by to help out.   
Carmen insisted she live with her and Manny, but she and Abuela came around often to help Juice and Kara.

Juice sat on the beach, watching Carlos wading in the shallows of the beach, thinking about all those moments that made him glad for all the hard times that had come before.  
He felt Kara come and sit next to him. The twins had just started to walk, and they slowly stumbled down to their brother.  
Juice pulled Kara under his arm, placing a kiss on the top of her head.   
“We have the most beautiful kids.” He said, keeping a watchful and loving eye on them.  
“I’m pretty sure all parents think that about their kids.” Kara joked, putting her arm around him.  
“Yeah, but for us, it’s true.”  
They sat quietly for a little bit, and Juice felt a bittersweet sadness come over him.  
“What’s up, babe?” Kara asked.  
“I’m gonna miss this age. They’re just starting to learn things and become their own little people. I’m gonna miss it when they get bigger.”  
“But they’ll get to the next stage and it’ll be even more exciting, more interaction. We got a lot of years before these kids fly the coop.”  
“You’re right, I just don’t want them to grow up so quick, ya know?”  
Kara cuddled in closer, nodding her head against Juice’s shoulder.   
“Well then, it’s lucky that we’ll be having another one in about 9 months or so.”  
“What?!” Juice exclaimed, turning to look at her.  
Kara pulled out a test and Juice took it, looking at the little pink lines.   
“I grabbed it while I was out at the store this morning, I thought I might be.”  
Juice wrapped his arms around Kara, thinking his heart must be as big as his head at this point.  
“Oh God, babe, this is so great. This is great, right?” He looked to his wife, hoping to see the same excitement in her face as he assumed was on his.  
“I couldn’t think of anything better.” Kara chuckled, sighing and looking back out to where the kids gently splashed.  
Oliver Filip Ortiz was brought home to very excited big brother and sisters, completing the family that Juice did not even know he had dreamed of.  
The bungalow on the beach was full, a home, with everything but the family dog.   
Juice was in the process of fixing that, though, having found a seller through Tig that bred dogs that were great with kids.   
He hadn’t quite gotten around to telling Kara yet as they’d been so busy with looking after four kids and working. But, as he liked to remind her whenever he did something spontaneous, she’d married him knowing all his flaws.  
And while he was living the American dream in Manzanillo, Mexico, Juice didn’t miss Charming at all. He was no longer haunted by his insecurities, no longer running, his past staying right there behind him where he couldn’t see it anymore.

Juan Carlos “Juice” Ortiz feared the reaper no more.

 

_Y ellos vivieron felices para siempre._

**Author's Note:**

> Co-written with the incredible codenamekaraortiz. We have loved writing this and we hope you love reading it! We'd love to hear your feedback, thank you for your support!


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